Library to celebrate 100th anniversary all year

Events to tout Jonesboro site’s history

JONESBORO -- It began as a "rest room," a downtown Jonesboro reading room that served as a place for women and children to sit and wait for their husbands and fathers to finish work in 1917.

Now, 100 years later, the Craighead County-Jonesboro Public Library has more than 160,000 books, newspapers, magazines, books on tape, DVDs and CDs at its location on Oak Avenue near downtown.

The library and its seven branches will celebrate its 100th anniversary Monday when Jonesboro Mayor Harold Perrin presents a proclamation in the library's Round Room. Library officials plan a yearlong series of lectures, concerts and events focusing on the library's history and its influence on Jonesboro, said Brandi Hodges, the library's public relations manager.

"The programs will deal with our history, who we are and where we came from," Hodges said.

The library is supported by a 2-mill property tax and has branches in Caraway, Lake City, Monette, Harrisburg, Lepanto, Marked Tree and Weiner.

It's not the oldest library in the state. The Helena-West Helena Library and Museum lays claim to that title. The Pecan Street library in the Phillips County town opened in 1891, built with money raised by the Women's Library Association. It was used as a library and a social venue until 1914, when its space was devoted fully to the library.

The Sevier County library also is older than Jonesboro's, opening on the second floor of the county courthouse May 8, 1906, in De Queen. Like the Craighead County library, Sevier County's library had several homes during its early years. In 1914, the library moved to a building across the street from the Sevier County courthouse and then moved seven times before ending up in its current location in 1994.

Faulkner County's library celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016.

"Libraries grow with their towns," said Lynda Hampel, executive administrator of the Arkansas Library Association in Little Rock. "I think a lot stem from the schools. It's part of how towns come in and begin."

Jonesboro's library was established Jan. 9, 1917, by the Jonesboro Civic League Club.

The organization filled the room of a Main Street building with couches and chairs and provided books and magazines for anyone wanting to rest there, hence the "rest room" designation.

"Families back then often had only one vehicle," Hodges said. "When the husbands came to town to work, the wives and children would come to town with them. They'd come to the room and spend the day, waiting until it was time to go back home."

The library moved to a home near downtown in 1941 where it incorporated.

In 1951, the facility moved again to a home on Main and Elm streets, which is still standing, about two blocks east of where the library sits now.

Finally, in 1964, the library moved to the corner of Oak Avenue and Madison Street.

Since then, the library has been expanded several times. In 1978, rooms for Arkansas genealogy and for blind and handicapped patrons were added. Ten years later, officials added a large space near the former Cherry Street entrance for videos and music collections, and in 1998 the library underwent a major renovation.

Finally, in 2000, a children's section was added.

"We are always adapting to our building needs," Hodges said.

Librarian Carolyn Ashcraft of the Arkansas State Library in Little Rock said successful libraries cater to the needs of communities through the years.

"Jonesboro's is one of the best public libraries in our state," Ashcraft said. "As you go through the years of the libraries' histories, you have to meet the needs of the service population. You've got to add branches, materials, programs. There are so many changes in the libraries in technology over the years.

"Jonesboro has done well doing that."

"Most libraries begin as groups seeing reading needs for children," Ashcraft said. "They begin with donations of private collections, and 100 years later they've got a great collection."

Hodges said the Craighead County-Jonesboro Public Library will showcase its centennial celebration during the entire year. She's asked people to scan family photographs that may include one of the town's libraries in the background and will show the pictures.

Crews also will install a metallic finish on a sidewalk leading to the entrance that will include the library's logo and information about its 100 years.

Each month, the library will feature exhibits or lectures about its history.

The library hosts outdoor concerts every summer. This year, Hodges said, she will seek groups that play music from various decades.

"We will have things to show from our history in connection with each decade," she said.

The library also will sell calendars with photographs and information about the library's century.

"Libraries have been around for a long time," Ashcraft said. "We need libraries for another 100 years."

NW News on 01/09/2017

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