Bartholomew County Public Library

Today Bartholomew County Public Library currently serves more than 73,000 residents and houses 195,000 items at the main library, 23, 000 items at Hope Branch, and 6,800 items on the Bookmobile.

History

• August 1894 The Columbus School Board authorized a levy to fund a public library.
• February 1899 Columbus City Council made two rooms available in the City Building for library purposes.
• August 1899 Columbus Library opened to the public with Jennie Elrod, Librarian and Josie Sayre, Assistant.
• December 1901 The two-room library was serving 9,000 residents of Columbus, and holdings included 4,500 volumes. Annual budget was $1,500. Funding for a library building was sought from Andrew Carnegie who replied on December 30, 1901 with a donation of $15,000 for the construction of a library building.
• January 1902 Commercial Club appointed a committee to assist the School Board in securing a library site.
  The corner of 5th at Mechanic (now Lafayette Avenue) was chosen.
  J.W. Gaddis of Vincennes (IN) was chosen as the architect for the Carnegie building.
• June 1, 1903 Dedication of the Carnegie Library was held.
• 1922 Library service was extended to all Bartholomew County residents.
• 1923 The library was re-named the Columbus-Bartholomew County Library. Various businesses in the town of Hope served as library "stations" from this time until 1966.
• 1959 Responsibility for levying the tax and maintaining the library was transferred from the school board to a separate city-county board of control. County-wide Bookmobile service was established.
• 1962 The library reorganized as Bartholomew County Library with a seven-member board of trustees.
• 1963 I.M. Pei was chosen as the architect for a new library building to be built on property adjacent to the Carnegie library building.
• June 1966 Hope Branch Library acquired rented space on the west side of the Hope Town Square.
• November 1966 Construction began on the present main library building.
• October 1969 The Main Library, known as the Cleo Rogers Memorial County Library, was opened.
  The Columbus Subregional of Talking Books for the Blind and Physically Handicapped was established.
• May 1971 Dedication for the Main Library and The Large Arch, by sculptor Henry Moore, was held .
• 1985 The library system became known as Bartholomew County Public Library.
• August 1986 Construction began on an addition to the main library. James K. Paris was the architect.
• June 16, 1987 The new addition including an Indiana Room and expanded nonfiction was opened.
• 1990 Automated circulation, public access terminals, and dial-up catalog were established.
• October 1994 Planning began for a new Hope Branch Library. Deborah Berke was hired as the architect.
• 1998 The Hope Branch Library on the east side of the Hope Town Square was dedicated on June 28.
• The new Hope Branch Library began service to the public on July 13.
  The library web site www.barth.lib.in,us was established.
• 1999 Online public catalog became accessible via the library web site.
• 2003 User-placed holds and renewals via the library web site became available.
• 2008 Downloadable books and music were introduced.

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