Lawrence Public Library

Last updated
Lawrence Public Library
Lawrence Public Library official logo.png
Lawrence Public Library entrance.jpeg
Lawrence Public Library
CountryUnited States
Type Public
Established1854 (Subscription)
1904 (Public)
Location707 Vermont Street
Lawrence, Kansas   66044-2371
Coordinates 38°58′14″N95°14′15″W / 38.97056°N 95.23750°W / 38.97056; -95.23750 Coordinates: 38°58′14″N95°14′15″W / 38.97056°N 95.23750°W / 38.97056; -95.23750
Collection
Size201,040 (2015) [1]
Access and use
Circulation1,367,223 (2018) [1]
Members68,089 (2018) [1]
Other information
Budget4,630,000 (2018)
DirectorBrad Allen
Website lplks.org
Map
Lawrence Public Library

The Lawrence Public Library is a public library located in Lawrence, Kansas. It serves the City of Lawrence, and, through its membership in the Northeast Kansas Library System (NEKLS), all of the citizens of the NEKLS multi-county regional library system. The library was originally established as a subscription-based library in 1854, but changed to a free public library upon the donation of a new building by Andrew Carnegie in 1904. The Carnegie library was the main headquarters of the NEKLS and the main library in Lawrence until 1972 when a new modern library replaced it.

Contents

History

1800s

The City of Lawrence opened its first library one month after its own founding, in October 1854. Membership at first cost $1 per year with the option of a $25 lifetime membership. The founder of Lawrence, Amos Adams Lawrence, brought a flatboat load of books to bolster the library's collection in 1855. [2]

In 1863 the library suffered the fate of many of the city's buildings and burned to the ground as William Quantrill attacked the city, in an event known as the Lawrence massacre. A new library was reorganized the year following out of the house of J. S. Boughton and monies were quickly raised for the construction of a new building. By 1866 a library association was created and a lease on a newly constructed building allowed the library collection a new home. [2] [3]

During the new library association's first two years 75 volumes were purchased with an additional 150 donated. The city took over control of the library in September 1871 and moved it into the Lawrence National Bank building where it occupied three rooms on the second floor. [3] [4]

1900s

Carnegie Library

The original Carnegie Library Old Lawrence Library.JPG
The original Carnegie Library

While the library was in a stage of renewed growth, its collection quickly outgrew its facilities. With 6,000 volumes there was not enough room to store all the books, and the $1 per year charge per resident was not ample enough to provide funding for a new building. [3] One resident, Peter Emery, was interested in library science and petitioned philanthropist Andrew Carnegie for funds dedicated to the erection of a new library. Carnegie agreed to the request and donated $27,500 on the stipulation the city of Lawrence transform it into a free public library and dedicate $2,750 each year to its upkeep and maintenance. [2] [3] This deal was called to a vote in the town and was overwhelmingly accepted. The new building began construction and was dedicated during the week of the semi-centennial celebration of Lawrence. [5] The library officially opened to the public on December 26, 1904. [3]

Period of growth

After the completion of the Carnegie library, the Lawrence Public Library experienced decades of rapid growth. By 1922 interest from children increased at such a rate that a new room was added to the library for their own use. [6] By 1936 40% of the city's population had a library card, and in the following year the building saw a renovation to increase the size of its storage stacks. More improvements were made in 1957 to modernize the building and incorporate more parking and air conditioning. [2]

Under the Library Systems Law passed in 1965, public libraries were encouraged to cooperate with each other in making library systems to better serve their populations. Libraries which banded together also became eligible for additional state and federal monies from the Federal Library Services and Construction Act. [7] Due to this, a new cooperative library was formed in 1966 consisting of 30 libraries across 14 counties in Kansas. The new library system was known as the Northeast Kansas Library System (NEKLS) and the headquarters was chosen as the Lawrence Public Library. [2] [7]

New building

Due to increasing space constraints in the Carnegie Library a proposal was made to allocate funds to construct a new building. To keep the history of the Carnegie Library alive the new building would be built in another location close by. In 1970 a citywide vote on a $1,575,000 bond passed with overwhelming success and the new library underwent construction. [8] This building opened in August 1972, and the Carnegie building became the location for the Friends of the Library association. [2] [9] From 1975 through 2002, the Carnegie Library building was home to the Lawrence Arts Center, before being repurposed as an events space and visitors center for the Freedoms' Frontier National Heritage Area in 2011.

2000s

On November 10, 2010 an $18 million budget was proposed by the Library Board of Trustees on the grounds that since its construction in 1972 the population served had more than doubled. [10] [11] [12] This proposal was accepted by voters later that year and renovations took place over the following four years reaching completion in July 2014. [13] [14] During construction, the library was temporarily housed in the former Borders Books location at 700 New Hampshire Street. [15]

Following the renovation, the Lawrence Public Library won the AIA/ALA Library Building Award in 2016. [16] [17] [18] It was also rated 16th place of 50 in "50 Best Libraries in America" by Elle Decor. [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence, Kansas</span> City and County seat in Kansas, United States

Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas and Wakarusa Rivers. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 94,934. Lawrence is a college town and the home to both the University of Kansas and Haskell Indian Nations University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cobb County Public Library System</span>

The Cobb County Public Library System (CCPLS) is a system of 16 public libraries in Cobb County, Georgia, United States, excluding its second-largest city of Smyrna, which runs its own Smyrna Public Library. CobbCat.org is the online database of all CCPLS holdings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Massacre</span> Raid in the American Civil War

The Lawrence Massacre, also known as Quantrill's raid, was an attack during the American Civil War (1861–65) by Quantrill's Raiders, a Confederate guerrilla group led by William Quantrill, on the Unionist town of Lawrence, Kansas, killing around 150 unarmed men and boys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houston Public Library</span>

Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System</span> Library system for the city of Atlanta and Fulton County, Georgia

The Atlanta–Fulton Public Library System is a network of public libraries serving the City of Atlanta and Fulton County, both in the U.S. state of Georgia. The system is administered by Fulton County. The system is composed of the Atlanta Central Library in Downtown Atlanta, which serves as the library headquarters, as well as the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, and 33 branch libraries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francisco Public Library</span>

The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as Library Journal's Library of the Year award in 2018. The library is well-funded due to the city's dedicated Library Preservation Fund that was established by a 1994 ballot measure, which was subsequently renewed until 2022 by a ballot measure in 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Vernon Square</span> United States historic place

Mount Vernon Square is a city square and neighborhood in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The square is located where the following streets would otherwise intersect: Massachusetts Avenue NW, New York Avenue NW, K Street NW, and 8th Street NW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">K-10 (Kansas highway)</span> Kansas highway

K-10 is a 36.611-mile-long (58.920 km) state highway in the U.S. state of Kansas. It was originally designated in 1929. It is mostly a controlled-access freeway, linking Lawrence to Lenexa. It provides an important toll-free alternate route to Interstate 70. Several scenes for the TV-movie The Day After were filmed on the highway at De Soto in 1982 portraying a mass exodus evacuating the Kansas City area on I-70.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National World War I Museum and Memorial</span>

The National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri was opened in 1926 as the Liberty Memorial. In 2004, it was designated by the United States Congress as the country's official war memorial and museum dedicated to World War I. It is managed by a non-profit organization in cooperation with the Kansas City Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners. The museum focuses on global events from the causes of World War I before 1914 through the 1918 armistice and 1919 Paris Peace Conference. Visitors enter the exhibit space within the 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m2) facility across a glass bridge above a field of 9,000 red poppies, each representing 1,000 combatant deaths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacksonville Public Library</span> Public library system in Florida

The Jacksonville Public Library is the public library system of Jacksonville, Florida. It primarily serves Jacksonville and Duval County, and is also used by the neighboring Baker, Nassau, Clay, and St. Johns Counties. It is one of the largest library systems in Florida, with a collection of over three million items. A division of the city government, the library has the third largest group of city employees after the city's Fire Department and Sheriff's Office. There are twenty branches and a Main Library in the system.

The Lawrence Journal-World is a daily newspaper published in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, by Ogden Newspapers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillsboro Public Library</span> Historic library in Oregon

The Hillsboro Public Library is a two-location public library system in Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. First opened in 1914 in a Carnegie library building, the system provides services to a population area of 137,000 people. As of 2015, the system had a usage of 922,000 visits per year, with circulation nearly 3 million items per year. One library is located near downtown in Shute Park, with the other location in the central portion of the city near the airport. The Hillsboro Public Library is part of Washington County Cooperative Library Services (WCCLS), which ensures library service is available to all residents of Washington County. As of 2015, the director of the library is Stephanie Chase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library</span> Public library system in Evansville, Indiana

The Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library (EVPL) is a public library system serving Evansville and Vanderburgh County in Indiana, USA. The EVPL also supplements the services provided by the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation and has the authority to approve the tax levy of the independently run and operated Willard Library.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simons Architects</span>

Simons Architects (SA) is a fifteen-person architecture, design, and planning firm located in Portland, Maine.

PROSOCO, founded in 1939, is an American national manufacturer of specialty construction products for cleaning, protecting and maintaining concrete; making building envelopes air- and water-tight; cleaning and restoring masonry buildings; and stabilizing masonry wall assemblies. PROSOCO's production and warehouse facility, and corporate headquarters are located in Lawrence, Kansas; construction on that building started in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clearwater Public Library System</span> Public library system in Florida

The Clearwater Public Library System (CPLS) is a public library system with five branches that provides service to the citizens of Clearwater, Florida and Pinellas County. The library system was founded in 1911. It is a member of the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Live Oak Public Libraries</span>

The Live Oak Public Libraries are a consortium of sixteen public libraries in the Savannah metropolitan area and Hinesville – Fort Stewart metropolitan area of Georgia, United States. The library provides services for Chatham County, Effingham County, and Liberty County. The library headquarters are located in the Bull Street Library in Savannah, which is one of two Carnegie libraries in the system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Georgia Regional Library</span>

The South Georgia Regional Library (SGRL) is a public library system consisting of six branches across the counties of Lowndes, Echols, and Lanier, Georgia. The headquarters library is the Valdosta-Lowndes County Library located in Valdosta, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kinchafoonee Regional Library System</span>

The Kinchafoonee Regional Library System (KRLS) is a public library system serving the counties of Calhoun, Clay, Quitman, Randolph, Terrell, and Webster, in the state of Georgia. The headquarters of the library system is the Terrell County Public Library in Dawson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main Library (Columbus, Ohio)</span> Columbus, Ohios main lending library

The Main Library of the Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) system is located in Downtown Columbus, Ohio, United States. The public library is the largest in the library system and holds approximately 300,000 volumes. It includes numerous rooms, including separate spaces for children, teens, an adult reading room, newspaper room, auditorium, gallery, gift shop, and a cafe. The third floor includes a computer lab and houses the Franklin County Genealogical & Historical Society.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Lawrence Public Library 2015 Report to the Community" (PDF). Lawrence Public Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 September 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Library History". Lawrence Public Library. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Lawrence Public Library". No. Volume LXI, No. 172. The Lawrence Daily Journal-World. July 19, 1917. p. 6. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  4. ↑ Armitage, Katie H. (2010). Lawrence: Survivors of Quantrill's Raid. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing. p. 83. ISBN   978-0-7385-7799-9 . Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  5. ↑ "The Lawrence Public Library". No. Vol. II, No. 82. Cortland Journal. September 16, 1904. p. 5. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  6. ↑ "Many Children Are Regular Readers at City Library". No. Volume LXVI, No. 219. Lawrence Daily Journal-World. September 23, 1922. p. 4. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Plan 14-County Library Service". Atchison Daily Globe. July 28, 1966. p. 12. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  8. ↑ "Race for Space". Digital Douglas County History. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  9. ↑ "DIVERSIFYING LIBRARY". Digital Douglas County History. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  10. ↑ Lawhorn, Chad (November 2, 2010). "Lawrence voters approve $18 million library expansion". Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  11. ↑ "Lawrence Public Library Proposal" (PDF). Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  12. ↑ Lawhorn, Chad (April 7, 2010). "Downtown merchants group supports library expansion, still mulling $18 million cost". LJWorld.com. Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  13. ↑ Lawhorn, Chad (October 2, 2012). "Library project moves forward". Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  14. ↑ Schulz, Madison M. (April 9, 2015). "NEW RENOVATIONS MAKE LAWRENCE PUBLIC LIBRARY IMPORTANT ASSET DOWNTOWN". KU Journalism. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  15. ↑ "What's up with the renovation?". Lawrence Public Library. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  16. ↑ "2016 AIA/ALA Library Building Award winners announced". ALAnews. American Library Association. May 20, 2016. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  17. ↑ Weller, Chris (January 9, 2017). "The most beautiful library in every US state". Business Insider. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  18. ↑ Madsen, Deane (April 12, 2016). "AIA and American Library Association Announce 2016 Library Building Awards". Architect. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  19. ↑ "The Most Beautiful Library In Every State". ELLE Decor. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2018.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Lawrence Public Library at Wikimedia Commons

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.