Lincoln Public Library begins sesquicentennial year with a history by Bill Donath

 

[May 22, 2024] 

On May 18th Lincoln Public Library patrons heard a presentation by Bill Donath highlighting the 150-year history of the library.

Library director Mike Starasta introduced Donath. Starasta said it was the kickoff of sesquicentennial celebrations this year.

Something Starasta said the library is trying to form is a Friends of the Library group, which is something that was in existence years ago. It will be a 501C3 organization and benefit the library by being a source for obtaining grants. He said the organization will also have volunteers who can be the eyes and ears of the community giving the library guidance on what the community needs.

Before handing the floor over to Donath, Starasta read a letter the library had received from Governor JB Pritzker congratulating the library on celebrating 150 years.

As he began his presentation Donath said he has been a Lincolnite since 1946. The library has figured into his life many times over the years. When Donath was a student at Washington Monroe many years ago, he recalls going to the library with his class and filling out a requisition for a library card. He would often ride his bike there and get the five books he was allowed to check out, then return a few days later to get more books.

As Donath got older, he found the library was a good place to relax and study with fewer disturbances than he would have at home.

Now, Donath uses the library for historical and genealogical research and has written four books. One book was on the civil war, another was the dead from the civil war, the third talked about World War II generosity, and the most recent one is a book about the 1918 Spanish flu and its effect on Logan County.

Next, Donath asked if anyone knew how many locations the library had been in. Only a couple people correctly guessed five.
The first article Donath was able to find about the library was in a Lincoln Herald Newspaper from April 1874. The impetus was for starting the Lincoln Public Library was the temperance movement. The library and reading was considered an alternative for people going to salons, pool halls and barber shops.

Plans for the library were discussed in a series of meetings of a group headed by Colonel R.B. Latham, who served as president of the group and Professor D.M. Harris who was the secretary. Capital stock was $5,000 and would be divided into $10 shares.

A posting in the April 23, 1874, Herald said “Each holder of a share pays two dollars in annual dues and is entitled to one vote.” The fixed rate for a lifetime membership was $50. Those who just wanted a yearly subscription paid three dollars. For a “quarterly subscription” they paid “a dollar and twenty-five cents.”

Additionally, stockholders would choose six directors. The goal was to raise $1,000. As the Herald said, “An organization is to be affected as soon as one thousand dollars of stock have been subscribed.” To raise these funds, Donath said they appointed several ladies.

The original Lincoln Library Association drafted a preamble for a constitution of their association. The preamble read as follows: “[w]e, the subscribers, citizens of Lincoln Illinois, do hereby associate ourselves together under the laws of Illinois incorporating such Associations for the purpose of establishing in this city a public library and reading room.”

The Library Association adopted a constitution for the library, which Donath said had several legal sections. The articles and sections in the constitution provided guidelines regarding shares and stockholders, membership, officers, and meetings.

Article six of their constitution stated that “the board of directors shall appoint a librarian, specify the duties of the office, fix the compensation, and require the person so appointed to give security in whatever sum they deem sufficient, for the faithful discharge of the duties of the office” (April 30, 1874, Lincoln Herald).

To amend the constitution, it would require a vote of “two-thirds of the Association present at its regular meeting, provided that written notice of the same shall have been given to the board of directors at least one month previous.”

On April 30, the association held another meeting in which “the committee of ladies appointed to solicit subscription reported 144 shares ($1,440) taken.” The committee was to report the next week at their meeting.

One way Donath said they raised funds for furnishing the library rooms was through social entertainment. The charge to get in was twenty-five cents. The first one was in Hoblit and Foley' Law office and included singing, recitations, charades, and reading of a Shakespearian work.

It was exactly 150 years ago this week the library was incorporated on May 18th, 1874. There was a group of eleven men and women involved in raising the funds. Donath said the women played a big role in raising the funds.

The library was set to open in August of 1874 it started with donated books. The August 20, 1874, Lincoln Herald said, “Between six and seven hundred books are on the shelves” and felt the selection of books was “well done.”

In his research, Donath found information about a May 1875 meeting to review the success of the first year of the library. The Herald article said around 75 to 100 books were being checked out every week. To purchase more books, they needed $500. At that time one committee selected books. Donath said 660 volumes were purchased by A.M. Miller and 56 books were donated. The expense of books was $826.55 and $1300 worth of shares had been purchased.

The library’s first location was in the upstairs of two stores ran by John Lutz and Ed Burton. Robert Latham owned the buildings and he let the library have the space rent free for 18 months.

To get to the library people had to go up the stairs through an entrance between the two stores. Donath’s research shows the stores were at 121 and 123 Kickapoo [which now house Deb’s Downtown Floral and the Bee]. It was housed there from 1874 to 1879 and the Friends of the Library continued to help raise funds for its upkeep.

The next location was the site of the Universalist Church on Kickapoo. Donath said it is where Mel ‘O Cream is now located. This location was the home of the library from 1879 to 1884.

The library then had somewhere between 1,350 and 1,411 books. Donath said they let people display art, stuffed animal collections, a geological collection, China sets and other objects to fill up the space. The library would be able to have this space for five years if they would repair it, run gas into it and if they kept it in good repair while they had it. They figured the cost for the upkeep would be around $300.

A July 24, 1879, article said “what is needed most is for some public-spirited citizen to will the institution several thousand dollars in good, solid cash, and then at once become his own executor, in order that there may be no doubt of its being rightly applied to the intended use.” Even residents and patrons bringing change in would help.

By looking at a map Donath found during his research, he said in 1896 the library may have been located at 416 Broadway what was called the Dehner Block. The Dehner block Donath referred to is near Sangamon Street. Donath is not quite sure how long the library was at this location, but it may have been there between 1896 and 1902 “depending on where the rent was cheapest.”

In 1890, Donath said the association started having financial trouble as some of the stockholders died and others moved away.

Once the association started having troubles, Donath said A.M. Miller asked the Lincoln City Council if they would put $200 per year towards the library to cover this shortage. In addition, several ladies hosted a winter fair, which raised $400.

Soon the library association started negotiating with the city to take over the library and had a $500 budget. In 1895, Robert Latham died. Donath said when Latham died his influence and money were gone.

At that point, the library had 9,000 volumes. By May 1895, the library was able to get space in City Hall on McLean Street.

Donath said the space the library used was on the 1st floor. It was 23 by 48 feet in dimension and lit by 8 windows. The entrance was in the center of the building, but not connected to or accessible through City Hall.

Next, Donath mentioned several dates that were important to the history of the library. For instance, in 1897, Miss Isabel Nash left her entire estate including her home to the library. In 1899, Mrs. Louise Scully gave $2,000 in her will, but the stipulation was only the earned interest could be used to buy books.

In 1901, Donath said the library started working towards what would be their current location. It was then that the Lincoln City Council and mayor W. O. Jones were able to secure $25,000 from Andrew Carnegie. Local judge Steven Foley contributed $5,000. In 1903, the library’s current location on Pekin Street was built and donated.

To help acquire the monetary gift needed Judge Stephen Foley shared his history of the plan. Donath said Judge Foley asked Mayor Jones to call a council meeting to discuss the plans. Foley then laid out the plans for a gift and resolutions and ordinances regarding the library. Foley paid for Mayor Jones to take a trip to New York to talk with Carnegie and request the funds needed to build the library.

Two of the libraries’ original librarians were Ida Webster and Lula Hayes. Donath said Webster had no training but spent time teaching herself to categorize the books.

The research Donath has done ended in 1900. As he said in the Spring 2021 issue of the Logan County Genealogical and Historical Society Newsletter Roots and Branches, “[p]erhaps this 19th Century history of the Lincoln Public Library will inspire another researcher to write the next chapter of the library history.”

Since 1903, Lincoln Public Library has been on Pekin Street. It now consists of the main library building and an annex behind it. Donath was not sure when the annex was built.

Starasta said he believed the annex was built in 1960 and purchased in 1995. Former Director Richard Summerall said the annex had its opening in 1995.

Over the summer, there will be more events to mark the 150th year of this important place in Lincoln. There is a sign up sheet for the Friends of the Library at the front desk.

[Angela Reiners]