The need f or a public library and its cultural influence were recognized early in this young community of Midland, even as early as 1914. A number of citizens were interested in such a project. The most ardent supporters of the movement for a library were Mrs. J. W. Dnughorty, wife of the president of the Pittsburgh Steel Company, and Mrs. William K. Hart. It was through the intorc8t of Mr. and Mrs. Hart that approval was secured from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation to construct in Midland a building to be used as a public library at no cost to the community.

The Midland Borough had agreed to supervise the construction of the building and to maintain the library after the building was completed. However before the project was started, it was ascertained that the legal responsibility for such n project rested with the school district and not with the borough, so that the council then transferred Its entire interest to the school district

On this basis the school board an August 12, 1914, hired Mt. F. J. Merrick of Pittsburgh to prepare plans and specifications for the new library building, which was to be presented to the community by the Carnegie Foundation. Bids were called for and received at the January 5P 1915, meeting. The building was designed in such a manor that it could be added to when a larger building is required. The successful bidders and the contracts, which were let that night, were as follows:

The site that was desired for this new building was located in the present park facing Penn Avenue, but the present site was selected. It was an area, which at that time was considerably lower than the street level. In the fall of 1915 the borough was laying out streets and doing considerable grading which brought about an excess of dirt. The school board agreed to a proposition to pay for the hauling of this excess dirt to fill in and grade to the present level the grounds around the new library building.

At the meeting of the school board held on January 4, 1916, the problem of financing and operating the new library was discussed at great length. The members of the Board of Education were gravely concerned. Most of them had understood that the school district had assumed the responsibility of supervising the construction of the building in order to satisfy a legal technicality, but that the borough council would assist in financing the operation of the project. At this meeting they directed that a letter be sent to the council stating their position and asking what financial aid the council expected to give. A reply from council was received and considered at the school board meeting of April 4, 1916. The letter stated that the council had been originally interested in the project and had agreed to supervise the construction of the building as well as maintain the program by appropriating $2,000.00 (the equivalent of 1 mill of taxation at that time) a year for its support; they (the Council) now found it necessary to withdraw their support and rescind their previous actions because their legal advisor had declared that the interest of the library was by law the full responsibility of the Board of Education.

A rapidly growing community was creating a severe demand for additional school facilities. These were critical problems for the Board of Education, and they were reluctant to accept the full responsibility of financing the public library. However they did assume the responsibility, and sometime during the year 1916 the Carnegie Free Public Library of Midland was opened for business. The Board of Education engaged Miss Marie Murphy to be the first librarian. She began her duties in September 1916, and was paid $65-00 per month. Except to indicate the reelection each year of Miss Murphy as the librarian, the official record s of the school district are void of any further mention of the library until June 23, 1919. On that date, the school board appointed a committee of citizens, board members, and supervising principal of the schools to become a Board of Library Trustees. The members of this Board of Trustees, as appointed, were T. J. Driscoll, H. B. Barnard, J. H. Dorr, William Coghlan, David Baxter, P. P. Gallagher, D. B. Gallagher, H. L. Cuthrie, Mrs. J. W. Daugherty, and Walter Alpanelp. There is no record of the activities of this Board of Library Trustees, and there is no further mention of the library until February 1, 1921. On that date, at a regular meeting of the school board, they took official action to act as the Board of Library Trustees themselves. Evidently this situation existed until July 7, 1922, when a now Board of Library Trustees was appointed in accordance with the school laws. This date really marks the beginning of successful operation of the library, because since that date the Board of Library Trustees has been kept intact and has functioned successfully in accordance with the laws.

The minutes of the school board state that the deed for the Carnegie Library was filed at the Beaver County Court House on March 7, 1921. Those early years must have been difficult, and we can imagine some of the problems. After 1922 the minutes of the Board of Library Trustees are quite complete and reveal many of their difficulties.

The members of the Board of Library Trustees which were appointed on July 7, 1922, were as follows:

This group met together on the evening of August 9, 1922, at the library. They elected Mr. D. B. Baxter as chairman', and Mrs. W. K. Hart as vice chairman. Mr. G. B. Newcomer, who was then the secretary of the school board, was automatically the secretary of the Board of Library Trustees. He served in this capacity until he was elected to the Board of Education in 1925. This library board has had a continuous existence since 1922. Each year the Board of Education elects a now member for a five year term. When any vacancies occur for any reason, the position is immediately filled by an appointment for the unexpired term. The Board of Library Trustees makes recommendations to the Board of Education, which are usually honored.

This group meets monthly at the library to consider recommendations to the Board of Education. A record of their activity is complete from August 9, 1922 until the present date except for n period from August 9, 1923, until December 12, 1925, when no minutes were recorded.

It would seem that in the beginning and extending until a few years ago, the members of the library board were charged with greater responsibilities than they are at present. The Board of Education allowed a budget of $2,000.00 for the operation of the library; the trustees were the administrators of the operation, having responsibility for the work of the janitors, the hiring of personnel, the purchase of books and supplies, etc. However, in recent years the responsibility of the trustees has become entirely advisory.

The slim budget provided by the school board made it necessary for the trustees to find other sources of revenue in order to develop the library as rapidly as was desired. The records show that they had frequent tag days, benefit movies, solicited donations, etc., in order to purchase more books for the library. The Crucible Steel Company gave substantial donations occasionally which greatly assisted the library. In 1922 the trustees approved a system of renting on a daily basis fictional books; this made it possible to add more books to their shelves. Credit must be given to many citizens who donated many books from their own libraries to start the original collection in the Midland Public Library.

The trustees did not give up on the idea that the borough council could be convinced to assist in the financial operation; it is recorded that in October of 1922 the trustees as a group attended the meeting of the borough council to present their case. There is no record that any response was given to their pleas. However in April 1926, a request came to the school board requesting that the borough council be given representation on the board of trustees. Such a request would load us to believe that they had been giving some financial aid. At that particular time there were no vacancies on the board of trustees, and the secretary was instructed to notify the council accordingly. At a later time, it would appear that consideration was given to this request because two members of the Council (Mr. McInerney and Mr. Fornslor) were appointed to the Board of Trustees.

The trustees found that one of their problems was caused by the loss of many books by patrons who were negligent in returning borrowed books to the library. Arrangements were made with Mr. Janas Porter, who was then serving as truant officer for the schools, to collect these books and to keep the fines for his trouble. He was able to recover many books. Frequently the young boys 'would loiter around the library in the evening and cause disturbances. This annoyed the librarian and trustees to no end; quite often the police had to be called to restore order.

Strangely enough, the school board passed a resolution on December 7, 1926: dissolving the Board of Library Trustees on the basis that the trustees were not functioning. There is no evidence that this mandate was carried out; but on the contrary, the minutes of the Board of Trustees show that the group continu6d meeting regularly and were very actively interested in the operation of the library.

Prior to 1929 the largo basement room in the library was used for many purposes. The Board of Trustees and the Board of Education had permitted its use for meetings of Boy Scouts, church groups, civic organizations, etc. At one time when all the available schoolrooms were being used, classes were hold there. For a period of about two years a private kindergarten was conducted by Mrs. F. B. Hill in this room. The Women's Civic Club of Midland use. The library for their meeting place for many years. In appreciation for this privilege, The Civic Club was responsible for beautifying the lawn around the library building and the presentation of many gifts to the library.

In 1928 the Board of Education made plans to do what was necessary to qualify the high school to become accredited by the Middle States Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges. It was necessary y to establish a high school library. The high school building was already overcrowded; so the basement room of the Carnegie Library was completely improved with now floors, shelves, lights, and furniture to house the schoo1 library. This project was completed and ready for operation in 1929. The fact that the school library was in a building other than the high school itself caused the Accrediting Association to be reluctant to approve the facilities. It was not until an agent of the association visited Midland to review at first hand the local conditions that final

approval was given.

The employment of a trained and certified librarian brought about a now regime in the operation of the library. The librarian was now engaged to be high school librarian as well as head librarian of the public library. Such an organization required the employment of an assistant public librarian. In 3eptember, 1932, Miss Frances Rodfong was employed as the first person to hold this position. Those who have served in this capacity are:

Much of the success of the Library has depended upon the splendid leadership and great efforts exerted by a succession of fine librarians. Those who have served in that capacity are:

Miss Marie Murphy 7/1/1916 to 7/1/1928

Miss Beatrice Burdge 7/1/1928 to 7/1/1931

Miss Leah Keller 7/1/1931 to 10/1/1933

Miss Helen Morss 10/1/1933 to 7/1/1938

Miss Katherine King 7/1/1938 to 7/1/1942

Mrs. Ivy McLaughlin 7/1/1942 to 7/1/1945

Miss Gertrude Schock 7/1/1945 to 7/1/1946

Miss Carolyn Karcher 7/1/1946 to (Incumbent)

The law establishes the fact that the secretary to the school board is also officially the secretary to the Board of Library Trustees. The persons who have served in this capacity are:

The history of the Carnegie Library is one of continued growth. Constant effort is revealed on the part of the Board of Trustees to improve the library to meet the needs of the community. To meet the needs of a large foreign population, the library has tried to secure some books writtei3 in foreign languages. In 1935 a branch library was established two nights each week at the First Street School to meet the needs in that section of the town. This branch library was continued until it was no longer needed there.

The library is generally recognized as one of the beautiful buildings in the borough. This stone building facing the park is kept in good repair; only a few years ago it was completely rewired and equipped with a modern lighting system. Those who are acquainted with the library are quick to testify that the Carnegie Library in Midland is superior to such facilities in other towns of this size.

This chapter on the Carnegie Library should not be concluded without relating the present activities of the program and how it is serving the community.

The services of Carnegie Free Library for the year July, 1952, to June 31, 1953, extended to 2,005 residents of Midland and nearby communities. One hundred ninety-four children registered and became now borrowers of the library; this brought the total number of juvenile borrowers to 890. New adult borrowers numbered 101 making this total 1115. During the year 18..421 books were circulated. Of this total 10,427 were books for children, 5,493 were adult fiction books and 2,501 were adult non-fiction books.

The book collection owned by the library represents a balanced selection of books in each of the ten classes of the Dewey Decimal System with an additional collection of adult fiction. A much used reference collection of encyclopedias, technical books, English and foreign language dictionaries, and statistical works brings the total adult collection to 8,237 volumes.

A special collection of 3,671 books for children from kindergarten age to teen-age contains works by authors whose reputations arc outstanding in the field of literature for children.

Appropriations for year, amounting to $2,500, were expanded to purchase 457 now adult books and 214 now children's books, 52 periodicals and five daily newspapers.

Baxter, D. B. July 7, 1922 to May 27, 1929

Bazard, W. S. Sept. 11, 1935 to Dec. 9. 1942

(Supt. of Schools)

Beglin,, Earl B. Dec. 1, 1937 to April 13, 1944

(Bd. of Ed. Rep.)

Bontor, Mrs. Walter tiny 27, 1929 to Jan. 10, 1935

Bream, Mrs. Harry July 7, 1922 to Dec. 'T, 1925

Crawford, Mrs. W. H. Oct. 9, 1930 to Julie 9, 1937

Davis, Mrs. W. E. June 9, 1937 to July 11., 1946

Jan. 17, 1953 to JulY-1, 1953

Fornsler, P. A. June 15, 1926 to July 9. 1936

Forrester, J. J. July 7, 1922 to Aug. 3, 1928

(Ba. of Ed. Rep.)

Gilbert, Rev. Paul July 9, 1936 to Feb. 1, 1946

Hart, Mrs. W. K. July 7~ 1922 to Feb. 6, 1923

Jan. 8, 1924 to Oct. 10, 1946

Hibbard, J. A. Dec. 1, 1927 to July 1, 1953

(BCL. of Ed. R,~p.)

Hopper, Mrs. E. W. June 13, 1945 to Sept. 12, 1949

Horlinger, H. V. Aug. 3, 1928 to Aug. 14, 1935

(Supt. of Schools)

Hyte, Mrs. Morris Oct. 10, 1946 to july 1, 1953

Jewell, Ralph H. Dec. 9, 1942 to jui-y 1

(SUPt- of Schools) , 1953

Kitler, Frank C. DCO- 15, 1922 to Dec. 7. 1925

Mahoney, Anna Mae Nov. 14, 1949 to July 1, 1953

McInerney, William  July 24, 1926 to Jan. 14., 1937

Moyer, F. H. July 7, 1922 to Dec. 15, 1922

Ncwcomcr, G. B. Dec. 7; 1925 to July 13, 1938

(Bd. of Ed. Rep.)

Parlette, B. F. Jr.

(Bd- of Ed. Rep.) Ju'Y 7, 1922 to Dec. 3. 1923

Priestley, w. j. JI-11Y 7, 10122 to Sept. 13, 1922

Pringle, 0. L. SQPt- 13, 1922 to Juno 24, 1926

Rich., Mrs. A. W. Dec. 7, 1925 to Dec. 15, 1926

Roach, Leslie Dec. 1, 1944 to Dec. 1, 1947

(Bd- of Ed. Rep.)

Robbins, Edward Feb. 17, 1937 to Jan. 12, 1938

Robbins, Mrs. Edward Jan. 12, 1938 to Aug. 10, 1939 - July 11, 1946 to Jan- 7, 1953

Sobat., Mrs. Daisy April lo, 1946 to July 1, 1953

Sonnhaltor, Mrs. A. L. Jan. 10, 1935 to May 9, 1945

4allover, Mrs. Ed-win Aug- 10, 1939 to July 1, 1953

lilton, Fred April 25, 1944 to Dec. 5, 1949