By Gabby Christensen
In 1900, local residents founded the Albion Public Library on the premise that free access to knowledge should be available to all.
Although access to knowledge has certainly changed over the years, the library has continued to fulfill this need in the community.
This year, the library will celebrate its 110th anniversary at its current building location.
The milestone will be commemorated with a special celebration on Saturday, Sept. 8, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the library.
Yard games such as potato sack races, croquet, corn hole, horseshoes, ladder ball and more will take place at the event.
Homemade ice cream and cake will also be served. There will be an open house at the library with opportunities to read old newspaper articles about the library and to share favorite memories of the library.
A showing of the movie, Wizard of Oz, will start at 2 p.m.
The current land on which the library sits was donated to the city by A. G. Mansfield. The architectural plans, the sidewalks, and some building funds were donated by Andrew Carnegie.
To this day, Andrew Carnegie’s picture still hangs above the front desk in the library.
The community of Albion worked together to raise the money needed to complete the construction of the building and the purchase of furniture and books.
Staci Wright, library director, said the building was truly built by the enthusiasm and hard work of the people of the town.
Over the years, the biggest changes at the library have been the addition onto the east of the building in 1977 and the installation of the elevator in 2005.
Wright said the library has seen many recent updates and changes, as well.
“We have replaced many aging bookshelves, created a new lawn and landscaping, installed new outdoor lights, updated computers including a child safe computer, and recently a low vision reading aid was donated to the library,” Wright said. “The library has also added many ‘maker space’ activities for children and young adults to encourage educational growth and interest in science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.”
Read the complete story in the Aug. 22 Albion News & Petersburg Press, Print and E-Editions.
