History

Weekly Wymorean dated December 15, 1900 The Library has completed the first year of its history. The report shows an attendance of 10,296 visitors. Number of books in library, 478 bound, 36 unbound, 8 periodicals are being received regularly. Number of loans made 1282. Amount collected during the year was $595.75, all of which was expended for expenses, etc. The librarian’s salary was $180.00. Laurie M. L. Vance is the librarian.

Arbor State dated November 1955 The first library in Wymore was located in the Greenwood building, part of where the dance hall is now, over the bank, and Mrs. L. L. Vance was librarian. That was back in the early 1900’s.

Sometime later it was moved over Pennington store. (This store was a general store housed in a L shaped building that wrapped around the bank building located where the Diane’s Dresses resides today. The library was on the second floor on the F Street section of the building. This library was destroyed, along with with the bank in the 1914 fire.

Records of the first minutes at meetings of the next library board were dated January, 1917, at which time there were nine members on the board. No reference was made as to having a librarian.

In January, 1917, members of the Fortnightly Club wrote a letter to the Carnegie Foundation concerning the building of a library. The foundation provided a grant for construction of the library and donated several children’s books. The gavel that the club used to call meetings to order is at the Library along with several of the wooden rocking chairs that belonged to the Fortnightly ladies.

In April, 1917, plans for the new building were discussed and A. W. Grant of Beatrice was accepted as architect to draw the plans. In May, 1917, Mr. Grant’s plans were accepted by the board and referred to the Carnegie Foundation for approval.

At first it was agreed that the library was to be built in the Burlington park or Rawlings Park until Mr. Whitson offered to donate the present site which was accepted by the board. Work was started on the building in Nov. 1917 and the new library was opened on May 15, 1919. Miss Lulu Williams was elected librarian. Library hours were to be 2:30 to 5:30 in the afternoon and 7:00 to 9:00 in the evenings. Fines were 2c per day and magazines had to be more than two months old to be checked out.

The Friends of Wymore Library (FOWL) was established in 1979 and the Wymore Library Foundation was established in 1996.

In the spring of 1999 an anonymous donor put forth a gift for the purpose of building an addition to the Library. Ground was broken for the addition on Oct. 12, 2000, in August 2002 the Library moved into their addition. The Library is now fully handicapped accessible, complete with an elevator.

In 2000 the Library Foundation’s first annual “Celebrate Your Library Banquet” was held.

With a generous gift by the Jones Families, the Library Board and Foundation were pleased to offer the genealogy room to the Family in 2003. The room was named the John S. and Ann Lloyd Jones Memorial Heritage Room.

The dedication for a Memorial Garden was held during Sam Wymore Days in 2004. Landscaping was completed at this time, which included an underground watering system. The Library is considered “quite a show place.”

 

Some excerpts of the above text were taken from the
Wymore Diamond Jubilee 1881-1956

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