| Madill
Public Library |
| Contributed
by Susan Hale and Shirley Harkins. |
| 1915 |
Members
of the Madill Women’s Club saw a need for a public library
and
invited interested persons to a tea, the price of admission
being a donated book. The Madill City Library opened at the
County Court House in May. |
| 1916 |
The City
assumed responsibility for the library, paying the librarian
a
salary of $25 per month. |
| 1948 |
The library
was moved from the courthouse to a room in City Hall that
measured 10X12, greatly increasing its size. |
| 1961 |
While a
new City Hall was under construction, the library was moved
to
the former Youth Center. During this period, a called town meeting
decided overwhelmingly to keep the library under local jurisdiction
rather than become a part of the Chickasaw Multi-County Library
System. In July the library was moved back into the City hall,
volumes increased from 2,500 to 10,000 and the floor space increased
four times. The librarian’s salary was increased to $125.00
per month. |
| 1984 |
The library
board went to the City Council telling of a need for more space.
Permission was granted to use city land adjacent to the existing
library for building purposes but the Council was unable to
provide funds. A vigorous campaign was initiated to raise the
needed funds. |
| 1985 |
Groundbreaking
ceremonies for the new library were held on November
8th. |
| 1986 |
The new
library was opened on June 27th with six times the space, a
true asset to the community. |
| 1991 |
Nan Lacy
was hired as librarian. She set about developing policies for
book selection and circulation. Under her guidance the library
became classified as a county library. |
| 1992 |
A friends
group, the Madill Marshall County Library Endowment Trust
(MMCLET), was formed to help the library. |
| 1993 |
Library
received a computer from ODL. Set in place policies on videos
and the fax machine also received from ODL. |
| 1994 |
The Molli
library automation software program was purchased to check in
and out books. Staff began entering the books into the computer. |
| 1995 |
Certification
classes started by library staff. |
| 1996 |
ODL upgraded
the computer we had received earlier. |
| 1997 |
Library
purchased another computer and we began taking books and
audio tapes out to the nursing home. The library provided the
audio
books, magazines, and large print books, plus the machines to
run the
tapes. |
| 2002 |
City made
plans for a new library building as part of a community center. |
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