Greenwood, WI Community Library Grant

By March 1^st a room in the Farmers and Merchants Bank was secured. A helper from the Library Commission came and by April 1^st the Library opened for business with Edith Varney as Librarian. 600 books were loaned that first month.

Ward Raymond made the first bookcase, the lumber being donated by the Greenwood heading and Lumber Co.

That spring a tag day was held and $97.05 taken in. Children’s teas were held which netted $20.00. a play directed by Rose A Bowen was given from which $107.35 was received.

On May 6, 1913 the City took over the Library with an appropriation of $150.00 yearly and the first Library Board appointed, consisting of P. E. Peterson, Mr. Thompson, Mrs. Wollengberg, Allie Williams and Mrs. H. J. Thomas. A motion picture was given and $38.25 received. The librarian salary was $104.00 yearly until 1922, when it was raised to $156.00 yearly. Raised again in 1926 to $240; in 1936 and 1937 to $300..

The library was in the Farmers and Merchants Building for four months rent free. It was then moved over Volk’s Tailor Shop, paying $5.00 monthly rent with Mrs. H. J. Thomas as Librarian. On Oct. 27, 1914, it was moved over the new Post Office, rent $96.00 yearly.

The first meeting of the Library Board was held May 7, 1913; the following members present – Mrs. Wollenberg, Mrs. Williams, Edith Varney, Jr. Jaastad, school principal, and P. E. Peterson. The board had no bylaws until April 1916. In the summer of 1916, Mrs. J. S. Andrews substituted for Mrs. Thomas, who was spending the summer in New York and Boston. In November 1916 Mrs. Thomas resigned and Ida E. Thompson was appointed. She held office until Oct. 7, 1918, when she resigned and Mrs. Thomas was reappointed and held office until May 23, 1920. Mrs. Stenton was appointed and served a few months. She was followed by Mrs. E. A. Ross who served until April 1921. It was then Mrs. J. S. Andrews was appointed.

Books by the hundred were mended and cleaned, a helper coming from Madison to help and instruct. Mrs. Armstrong, Mrs. McIntyre and Mrs. Wollenberg were others who helped. On Aug. 7, 1922 steps were taken to start a card catalogue. A Miss Bean came from the Library School at Madison for three days to assist and in 19 years the catalogue has grown from two drawers to 12, containing from 12 to 13 hundred cards, or 15 to 16 thousand altogether. We also have a shelf list of 5,105 cards, one for each book in the Library. This shelf list is very useful for inventory and in ordering new books, keeping the different classifications balanced. The card catalogue is for the use of the public. The shelf list for the Librarian.

Since 1913 four plays netting $95.30, $42.65, $66.73, $77.18 were given and three food sales, $47.90, $14.04 and $36.78 for the benefit of the Library. Some petty cash and quite a few books have been given. Rod and Gun Club Auxiliary gave $41.46, Woman’s Club has given $60.00, Townships $1025.00. Many magazines have been given throughout the years. Approximately $1018.72 have been collected in fines.

In the fire (origin unknown) of Sept. 10, 1930, 210 books were burned, mostly histories, biographies and travel. All were smoked and water soaked. The books were moved into the R. E. A. building and pressed and dried daily in the sun. The library is kept insured and at the time of the fire $1322.97 was collected. In 27 years $850.65 has been spent for Periodicals.

On April 30, 1926 the city purchased the Baptist Church for a City Hall and moved the library there, where it remained until the new City Hall was built in 1935 and the library moved there in August of that same year.

About $6,200 has been spent for books up to 1940. A record of the number of times each book is loaned is kept and averaging the number of loans on the past 30 books withdrawn each books was loaned ?? and 4.5 times. Over $400 has been spent for supplies such as book pockets, dates slips, catalogue cars, book cards and book marks. Tables, chairs, shelving, desk drawers for cards catalogue, filing cabinet, all cost money. At present we need drawers for shelf list, some free standing book cases.

Besides keeping all records, daily loaning, keeping record of each class of books loaned, (childrens and adults kept separately) making a yearly report to the city, reports are made out to Library Board at Madison and the last 3 years to Washington D. C.

The Librarian reads hundreds of book reviews, selects and orders books, catalogues them and mends constantly. In 1936 1,296 books were mended and 772 in 1940, as more books were rebound. The more useful books are selected to be rebound. Other duties of the Librarian are dusting and cleaning, sorting and storing periodicals, clipping pictures (loaning and giving many of them away). Weekly mailing or calling by phone of overdue notices.

Helping select and finding material needed and teaching the use of card catalogue and Readers Digest. Selecting non-fiction to will interest different tastes even to telling part of the story to arouse interest. Keeping track of 600 – 1000 books in circulation is no small job.

Those who donated $5.00 – Dr. F. A. Boeckman, Erastus Bowen, M. & E. Wollenberg; $3.00 – Mrs. Wuethrich; $2.00 – Dave Shanks, Dr. Baker, M. B. Rossman, Volk Bros., Mrs. C. Bailey, Mrs. Claire Hunt, Elmer Rossman, Elmer Sheets, Mrs. Techerner, Mrs. J. Garet Knop, Mrs. W. Steiner, Alice Orriok; $1.50 – Ralph Thompson, Mrs. Gries, Chester Miller, Emil Drummond; $1.00 – Arthur Haglund, B. L. Bailery, Louis Vales, Chalres Varney, Mrs. E. Hall, Mrs. Ed Carpenter, Clara Huntzicker, Mrs. Haughenbaugh, M. E. Wilson, Albert Johnston, Fern Sloniker, Edna Sheets, Helen Klinke, Ed Klinke, Helen Davis, Mrs. E. Bishop, E. McMahon, Albert Shanks, John Huntzicker, Floyd Sloniker, Floyd Volk, Dr. McIntyre, Haold Stabnow, E. N. Paul, Maud Miller, Rob Huntzicker, G. Benson, Harry Young, Guy Boyce. Those who gave under $1.00 – Bernard Hogue, Elmer Johnson, Mrs. Old…? , Paul Smith.

The following have donated books: Hannah Honeywell, Julius Hambre, Eunice Paul, Clara Huntzicker, Dr. Carl Baker, Rue Cummings, Mrs. Grasshorn, Charles Varney, Edna Burch.

Maynard Bowe (left) presents a check to Nettie Berthold, representing the Greenwood Public Library, for $500 to be used for shelving for genealogy. (TRG--May, 2004)

The Weather Shield LITE foundation recently awarded $500 earmarked for new shelving to accommodate the fast growing genealogy collection at the Greenwood, WI Public Library. If you have a hard copy of your family history which you'd like archived, Greenwood's librarians would be pleased to add it to their local history collection. The helpful staff is extremely interested in preserving the historical aspects of the area. The facility is centrally located in the county and is equipped with four brand new computers, high speed internet, a laser printer, a scanner and local micro-films