Have you ever wondered what the world would
be like without mothers, seriously?
I know a time or two I wished my small world was void of a
particular woman I affectionately call “Mommy Dearest”.
Actually, as far as mothers go, my mom wasn’t so bad. Sure she
beat us with a hair brush every now and again, but what kid
didn’t feed her mom’s $100 pair of shoes to the new puppy as a
chew toy, and this was back in 1983 when I’m told one hundred
dollars was equivalent to one thousand dollars by today’s
standards. I guess the point of all this is to get the message
across that through all the spankings, being grounded most of
high school, and utter humiliation when my mom interrupted my
first kiss, I still needed her to lay the foundation that
propelled me to the greatest I am today. These events are what
we mothers call growing pains, and they are not confined to
people. Organizations also have growing pains. In celebration
of Mother’s Day, Liberal Memorial Library wishes to thank all the
women and mothers who have made Liberal Memorial Library what it
is today, especially through the hard times.
The Library began as a reading room in 1903
when the Liberal Woman's Club established the first public
reading room in a rented room in the old Chamber of Commerce
building on South Kansas Street. Books were loaned by
individuals and circulated by volunteer librarians. The main
librarians were Mrs. Lillian Long, Mrs. Mina Rindom, and Florence
Brown, with all thirty other club members helping. The room was
in operation for only three months, closing because of a shortage
of workers and funds.
In 1909, the club purchased a small two-room
house and two adjoining lots at 317 West Second Street to use for
their meetings and for a library. The price was $500. To help
raise funds for the club house it was rented out as an
educational and religious building. Other sources of income
included food sales, dinners, and entertainments. Finally, in
1911, the Woman's Club was able to pay the mortgage in full.
With the formal opening on October 12, 1915, the club house was
made into the first library in Liberal.
I n
the Spring of 1921, the Liberal voters passed the proposition to
finance the library with a 1/2 mill levy. In spite of the
businessmen's prediction that this proposition would never be
passed, it was carried by a large majority. By the request of
Mrs. Bert Long, a member of the Club appointed library board, the
City Manager appointed the first City library board in April of
1921. As long as the Woman's Club existed, one of its members
was to remain on the City library board.
In 1921, having again outgrown its current
location, the library was moved into the south section of the
Town Hall building on the southwest corner of 4th and Kansas,
where it stayed until 1953.
By 1950 the library board had secured from
the Liberal City Commission the permit to erect the new library
building. A charter was granted to Seward County Memorial
Library Association on December 15, 1950 for a library building.
It was to be a memorial to all the servicemen of Seward County
including all who had died and those still living.
 The new
library building was to be located on the west half of the block
between Fifth and Sixth streets on North Kansas Avenue, which was
known as Cooper Park. Funds and pledges in the amount of
$15,000 were donated by the citizens of Liberal.
Completed in 1951, the building was made of poured concrete
and was 40 feet by 60 feet. Memorial Library was opened to the
public on Febuary 14, 1953. Open House was held on March 16,
1953, with the Woman's Club members acting as hostesses.
The Book Front entrance was added after the library's
completion. The Book Front was the largest of its kind in the
United States. It was designed by the building's architect
George L. Pitcher and was constructed of concrete for a bid of
$5000. The entrance was started on October 20, 1954 and
completed for the dedication of April 14, 1955 on the 40th
anniversary of the library venture.
On January 18, 1988, the Governing Body of the City of
Liberal, Kansas, met in regular session and authorized the
construction of an addition to and the remodeling of the City's
existing library building. Approximately 7,000 square feet were
added to the Library for a total of approximately 16,000 square
feet. A skylight that spans the entire length of the library was
added. Also, the main entrance was removed from the Book Front
and placed beside it for structural reasons.
 On January
29, 1998, the lower level of the library was opened to the public
for the Grand Opening of the Patron Resource Center (or PaRC).
The lower level contains all genealogy and Kansas history
materials.
As you can see by this history of Liberal Memorial Library,
women have played a significant role in bringing books and
literacy to Liberal. We have all benefited from the generosity
and motherly affection of numerous Liberal women, which have
continued to provide support and funding to our library. |
