I readily admit that a visit to the library is, for me, like being a kid in a candy shop (except without the calories). We do have a very fine branch library just across the street from our subdivision, and I visit it frequently, but today I treated myself to some time at our wonderful large downtown library. Our library is know for, among other things, a nationally renowned geanealogy center (one of the top three in the country) which I really must take advantage of one of these days.
Because I had such a good time at the library today, I decided to check in the little book "Moments In Fort Wayne History" to see what the author had to say about the history of our local library. Would you believe that in the 50 pages of this little book there is not a single mention of libraries? What kind of professional author doesn't mention libraries in a little book subtitled "A Unique Look at the Places and People Contributing to Fort Wayne's Growth." What about libraries and librarians?
I have decided that I must make up for this grievous omission, so here's the history that Mr. Bashore didn't include in his little book. The ACPL (Allen County Public Library) was founded in 1895 as the Fort Wayne Public Library. It started with 3,606 books housed in a single room at City Hall.
One year later, in 1896, it was designated as a Federal Depository Library. That is a library that provides free, open access to official government publications, documents and electronic resources. Now you know why tax forms are available at the library.
Today we have a vibrant main library and 13 outlying branches containing millions of physical and digital items. (Not to mention free lunches for kids during the summer.) When I was strolling through the library today I was interested to see that the seats in front of the rows and rows of computers were all occupied.
From time to time I have special requests. Any librarian I have ever spoken with by phone or in person is unfailingly polite and helpful. So cheers for our local library. May it grow and flourish for years to come.
No comments:
Post a Comment