Pottsville Free Public Library

"Make reading material available to all by subscribing to the free public library fund."

That was one of the slogans the education committee of the Women's Civic Club used in 1911 to rally support for establishment of a free public library in Pottsville. Although there had been several libraries in the City since its founding in 1806, the institutions had either charged fees or restricted their services to certain segments of society.

The Women's Civic Club members opened their drive for a library that would be both free and public by enlisting the cooperation of the Pottsville School Board and various interested citizens. During a two-week whirlwind campaign that consisted mostly of door-to-door canvassing, the energetic library organizers succeeded in raising $10,775.25. The money made possible rental of a building and the purchase of furniture and books.

To ensure continuing financial support for the new institution, the School Board agreed to levy a one-half mil tax. Management of the Library was vested by charter in a Board of Trustees made up of eight local citizens, three School Board officials and the Superintendent of schools.

The Pottsville Free Public Library opened its door for the first time November 9, 1911, in a three story building at 208 West Market Street. On the upper floors were eight small "dormitories" the fledgling library planned to sublet for $1.50 to $3.50 a week, depending on room size, and a meeting hall to be used free by townspeople.

The Library was located in a first-floor area, 14 by 41 feet, formerly the site of a saloon. At the rear were the Librarian's office and a storage room. In the street-side windows, that for years had been kept shuttered to conceal bar patrons from the curious gaze of passerby, were samplings of the Library's 3800 books.

By 1914, the book collection had tripled. Books were everywhere. The space problem was so acute that some volumes were stored in a cast-iron oven left over from the building's saloon days. However, it wasn't until 1922 that the Library was able to move to new and larger quarters at the southeast corner of Third and West Market Streets, its present location.

Pottsville's present public library is partly a private triumph. The land on which it stands and more than half of its construction cost of $100,000 were gifts from Arthur, Henry W. and Louise Sheafer, members of a wealthy Pottsville family whose fortune had been made in coal and iron.

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