Athens County Public Libraries

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Athens County Public Libraries
Athens County Public Libraries logo.png
Established1935
Location Athens County, Ohio
Coordinates 39°20′04″N82°05′02″W / 39.334521°N 82.084007°W / 39.334521; -82.084007 Coordinates: 39°20′04″N82°05′02″W / 39.334521°N 82.084007°W / 39.334521; -82.084007
Branches7
Collection
Size300,000
Other information
DirectorNick Tepe [1]
Website www.myacpl.org

The Athens County Public Libraries are a consortium of seven public libraries located in Athens County, Ohio. The library system was originally known as the Nelsonville Public Library. The original facility in Nelsonville was created in 1935 as an outgrowth of the Nelsonville school system. [2]

Public library Library that is accessible by the public

A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants.

Athens County, Ohio U.S. county in Ohio

Athens County is a county in southeastern Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 64,757. Its county seat is Athens. The county was formed in 1805 from Washington County. Because the original state university was founded there in 1804, the town and the county were named for the ancient center of learning, Athens, Greece.

Nelsonville, Ohio City in Ohio, United States

Nelsonville is a city in northwestern York Township, Athens County, Ohio, United States. It is 60 miles southeast of Columbus. The population was 5,392 at the 2010 census. It is the home town of Hocking College.

Contents

The library system has an inventory of about 300,000 items. In recent years, it has provided computers with Internet connections at its libraries, and this service has been shown to be very popular. [3]

Internet Global system of connected computer networks

The Internet is the global system of interconnected computer networks that use the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to link devices worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope, linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless, and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries a vast range of information resources and services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents and applications of the World Wide Web (WWW), electronic mail, telephony, and file sharing.

Recently, the library system has begun a landscaping program at its libraries to introduce a wider variety of plantings, especially including native trees and shrubs.

History

Before the establishment of the county library the Works Progress Administration maintained twenty library stations throughout the county. These libraries usually consisted of small collections and untrained staff, but demonstrated a need in the county for a dedicated public library. [4]

Works Progress Administration United States federal New Deal agency charged with creating work in the 1930s and 1940s

The Works Progress Administration was an American New Deal agency, employing millions of job-seekers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads. It was established on May 6, 1935, by Executive Order 7034. In a much smaller project, Federal Project Number One, the WPA employed musicians, artists, writers, actors and directors in large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects. The four projects dedicated to these were: the Federal Writers’ Project (FWP), the Historical Records Survey (HRS), the Federal Theatre Project (FTP), the Federal Music Project (FMP), and the Federal Art Project (FAP). In the Historical Records Survey, for instance, many former slaves in the South were interviewed; these documents are of great importance for American history. Theater and music groups toured throughout America, and gave more than 225,000 performances. Archaeological investigations under the WPA were influential in the rediscovery of pre-Columbian Native American cultures, and the development of professional archaeology in the US.

On June 1, 1935 the idea for a public library was conceived under the name The Public Library for the City of Nelsonville and Athens County. Staff from the WPA were the first librarians and various organizations and townspeople donated books to first fill the shelves. In September 1935 around a thousand books were borrowed from the State Traveling library and in December $200 donated from the State Aid for Libraries fund. Still spread across multiple WPA libraries, the entire collection moved to Washington street in 1936 allowing the hiring of a trained librarian, and the cataloging of the books under one roof. [4]

A traveling library is a collection of books lent for stated periods by a central library to a branch library, club, or other organization or, in some instances, to an individual. The chief characteristics from which it derives its name are its temporary location in the place to which the collections of books is sent and the implication that any traveling library will or may be changed for another collection of books. A bookmobile is an example.

By 1939 the library moved again and began converting the old library stations (now unused) into branch libraries. By the end of 1939 the system consisted of one library with two branches and five deposit stations. A bookmobile was also started with county budget funds which visited the county schools. In 1940 the Athens branch opened in a part of the city previously serviced by the University system. [4]

During the 1970s through 1990s an addition three library branches were opened throughout Athens. These were the Wells library, the Coolville library, and The Plains library. With their inclusion the size of the system grew to its current seven branches. [4]

Starting in 2013 the library system successfully received $17,400 in funding to begin offering bikes for student use. The program, "Book-a-Bike" allows students with a library card an alternative to taking the bus or walking to school. [5]

Branches

Today, the library system consists of these seven branches:

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Athens, Ohio City in Ohio, United States

Athens is a city and the county seat of Athens County, Ohio, United States. Athens is most widely known as the home of Ohio University, a large public research university with an enrollment of more than 36,800 students across all campuses. Located along the Hocking River in the southeastern part of Ohio about 65 miles (105 km) southeast of Columbus, Athens is the principal city of the Athens, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area. The official population of Athens in the 2010 U.S. Census was 23,832, with a daytime population of over 40,000

Coolville, Ohio Village in Ohio, United States

Coolville is a village located in Troy Township, Athens County, Ohio, United States, in the southeast area of the state. The population was 496 at the 2010 census.

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Buchtel, Ohio Village in Ohio, United States

Buchtel is a village in Athens and Hocking counties in the U.S. state of Ohio, just northeast of Nelsonville. Located in the Hocking Valley, it was a center of coal mining in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The population was 558 at the 2010 census. A former name for the village is Bessemer.

Hocking River river in the United States of America

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References

  1. Guinn, Sarah (July 9, 2016). "Athens County Library System to welcome new director this fall". The Athens Messenger. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  2. "About Your Library". Athens County Public Libraries. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  3. "Athens Travel Guide" . Retrieved 13 July 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "A brief history of Athens County's public libraries". ACPL. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  5. Campbell, Maggie (March 16, 2017). "Athens Public Libraries provide free alternative transportation for students". The Post. Retrieved 18 September 2017.