Alexander Mitchell Public Library
History
Aberdeen Free Library Association
Aberdeen was two years old
when Mr. B.E. Hutchinson began to talk about organizing a library.
On February 25, 1884 a group of citizens met to form The Aberdeen
Library Association. March
13, 1884 the Aberdeen Free Library Association was incorporated under
territorial laws. This subscription library was maintained by the sale of
memberships at twenty-five cents per month or $1.50 per year.
Aberdeen’s first library was in two rooms on the second floor
of the Hagerty Block (now the Dacotah Prairie Museum.)
The library was moved several
times during its early years, in the 1899-1900 city directory it is
listed at 223 S. Main Street. Until
1914 a board member held the title of head librarian and the assistant
librarian ran the library. Miss
Elnora Pleasants was first appointed assistant librarian in 1893.
In the late 1890’s under general state law the library was
turned over to the city.
Alexande
r Mitchell Library, various locations
Hearing of the need for a
library, Andrew Carnegie gave $15,000 for the purpose of building a
library. A lot was chosen
on the corner of 6th Avenue and Lincoln Street. The official
opening was July 15, 1902 under the direction of assistant librarian
Miss Aurora Koehler. The
name was chosen in honor of Andrew Carnegie’s close friend and
president of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad.
The first trained librarian was Miss Dorthea Heins in 1924.
When Dorthea Heins died
suddenly in June of 1944, her assistant Miss Helen Glau was appointed
library director.
On February 6, 1950, the
library building was condemned and the library was closed for two
months. Finally a small
collection of adult books was moved to the basement of the McDiarmid
Slater Grocery Store. The
children’s books were loaned to the schools but when they closed for
the summer, the children were without books.
As a partial solution to the problem, a bookmobile was purchased
in December, 1951.
In April of 1952, the library
was moved to the second floor of the Webb-Ackley building.
The rented headquarters were only a temporary spot for the
growing library.
Alexander
Mitchell Library, 519 South Kline Street
Mr. Abbott Milligan presented
the site for the library on the corner of 6th Avenue and
South Kline Street in honor of his father A.F. Milligan, former library
board president.
On August 1, 1963 the new
library was opened with a collection of 70,751 volumes.
In 1972 Miss Glau retired as
head of the library and was replaced by Mrs. Emily Guhin.
The library continued to improve.
In 1973 two new bookmobiles were purchased to replace units which
were in service since the 1950’s.
On June 1, 1979, Elizabeth
Quinn was appointed director after the resignation of Mrs. Guhin.
A year later, Ms. Quinn resigned and Mr. Janus F. Olsen was named
to the post.
In 1983 the library became a
member of the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC).
This enabled the library to share data concerning materials in
more than 6,000 institutions in North America.
Mr. Olsen resigned in June
1986 and Mrs. Delores Campton was appointed as Interim Director.
In January 1987, David Rave assumed the duties of Library
Director. The library
discontinued the bookmobile service to Aberdeen schools in 1987 as each
school’s library was improved. Beginning
in February 1989, a major remodeling project took place with the removal
of asbestos containing materials, moving of the main entrance of the
library to the north side of the building and converting the garage to
office space. This project was completed in November 1989.
September 1, 1990 saw the
signing of a Joint Powers Agreement between the City of Aberdeen and
Brown County. Merging the
two libraries’ collections and eliminating the user fees for all Brown
County residents were direct results of that agreement.
In January of 1991, the
library expanded its use of volunteers and formalized a volunteer
program.
The library joined the South
Dakota Library Network in the spring of 1992, which provided access to
an automated catalog of collections of libraries throughout the state.
In July 1993, the library started using the SDLN automated
circulation system.
In 1995, CD-ROM products
became available to the public. Various reference and magazine databases became available to
patrons via SDLN. In 1996, the library launched a young adult library
program. A Rural Development Telecommunication Network (RDTN) studio was
installed in the library meeting room. A room in the basement of the
library was converted for use as the Heritage Room, housing much of the
library’s genealogy materials, as well as, back issues of magazines
and the Railroad collection. In 1997, the library gained Internet
access.
Mr. Rave retired on December
18, 1998 and Pamla J. Lingor was appointed as Interim Director of the
library. Mrs. Lingor was
appointed Library Director on August 4, 1999. The Reference and Circulation Departments were combined into
one department called Adult Services in September of 1999.
In 2000, the library expanded
its offerings of programs and services with cooperative programs with
the Dacotah Prairie Museum, local nursing homes and area schools and
organizations. The
library’s WebPages on the Internet were developed. AMPL Books, a book
discussion group was formed. The
Aberdeen Saturday Pioneer (the newspaper published by L. Frank Baum when
he was an Aberdeen resident) was preserved by being encapsulated. On
September 9, 2000, the library’s hours changed to being open on
Saturdays from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and being closed on Sundays. The
library staff participated in a salary survey of all city employees that
resulted in significant wage increases for some of the library staff.
In 2001, asbestos was removed
from the lower level of the library.
All materials on the lower level were moved to the main level of
the library to allow for the asbestos abatement.
In 2002 plans are underway to
remodel the lower level of the library.
Plans call for the children’s room to be expanded, better
public access to the Heritage Room and more public meeting rooms.