Read this terrific history Mae Carter wrote on the Newark Free Library! MEMOIRS OF A “BOOKEND” Mae R. Carter It was in August 1956 that our family arrived in Delaware from the San Francisco area of California. With two daughters, ages 6 and 9, and the typical hot humid summer weather that was very different from the cool San Francisco one, we needed to find indoor activities. We looked for the Newark town library in an effort to find books for our daughters to read. It required some effort, and we finally found it in the lower level of the Newark Special School District Administration building. However, it was not open that day as it had limited hours. When we finally found it open, it was in rooms that were dark and gloomy. The books were mainly ones that had been donated and some from the New Castle County Library. Mrs. Sinclair was the woman who had kept the library open voluntarily for many years. She was finally paid $100.00 a month. I learned that the New Century Women’s Club established the Library in 1897 with a membership fee originally of $1.00. They maintained the Town Library with very limited resources. Books from the New Castle County Library were circulated in addition to the donated ones. They deserve a lot of credit for their work, with almost no financial help. It was clear to me and many others an improvement was needed. Libraries have always been important to me. I grew up in the Great Depression and we did not have many books at home, I was very fortunate that I lived in Berkeley, CA, where there was a town library branch adjoining my grammar school. I would visit it weekly. It was like a candy store for me with so many fascinating books to read. During my years at the University of California-Berkeley, I spent hours in its libraries. In California, our daughters and I would visit the Walnut Creek Library every week. It was founded with funds from the Carnegie Library Program. I was amazed that Delaware did not have a Carnegie Library in the entire state because no community would provide matching funds. For a while, I did not know that the citizens of the City of Newark had the privilege of borrowing books from the University of Delaware. The University Memorial Library was built as a memorial to those soldiers who lost their lives in World War I. Donations were sought from the community with the understanding that they could use the Library. However a University Library does not have the same function as a community library. It needs to function as a research library. Children’s books and services were unavailable. In California I had been very active as a PTA President when the combined Walnut Creek PTAs conducted a study of school libraries in our School District. As a result, the library budgets increased and there was an improvement in the book stock. In Newark, I soon joined the American Association of University Women and found like-minded women. I joined the active AAUW Education Committee. Among other concerns, the Committee identified the poor condition of the Newark Special School District school libraries and four of us formed the Library Study Committee, consisting of Carmen Nelson, Mary Ann Lackman, Ruth Kauffman, and me. Our report, with the backing of AAUW, made a major difference. We had found that the traveling librarian spent ½ a day every two weeks at each elementary school. The School District had a very limited library budget that was far below published national standards. As a result the Newark Special School District found money to hire another librarian as well as increasing their book allocation. We were very pleased when our Report won a National Award from the Better Home and Gardens Magazine for Community Action. It was in the 1960’s that the University decided to withdraw the use of the University Library from the general public. After much discussion with women and men in the community, Carmen Nelson, a graduate of the University of Washington, who moved to Newark with her family from the State of Washington, and I decided to work on improving the Newark Free Library. Carmen and I found that the Newark League of Women Voters, who had done an earlier study of the Library, was still concerned with libraries. Two women from the League, Miriam Willis, a Barnard College Graduate who had previously owned a bookshop in Texas, and Marge Purcell, a graduate of Beaver College in Pennsylvania, joined Carmen and me to work on this problem of further upgrading the Library. We recognized that two influential women’s groups, the Newark League of Women Voters and the Newark Branch of the American Association of University Women, working together would be more effective. We started by comparing libraries we had known in other states and the published American Library Association’s national standards for community libraries. We started attending the Library Board Meetings to observe their activities. It was quite a surprise to them as they seldom, if ever, had had anyone interested before. They were all local community leaders making their civic contributions. However, their goal was to run the library without raising taxes, although they had the legal right to increase the tax collected by the school district. The four of us divided up the Library Board members and made a personal visit to discuss the needs of the Newark Free Library with each of them. As things progressed, the Library Board bought the vacant Episcopal Church Building at Elkton Road and Delaware Ave at a bargain price, with the financial support of the New Century Club and the Lion’s Club, and contributions from the Newark Community. It made a big improvement in the library environment and the Library Board increased budget for books. Gene Brown, friend, neighbor, AAUW member and a retired trained librarian, with much persuasion, agreed to return to work. For the first time, Newark had a full-time trained librarian. We eventually made a visit to Judge Andrew Christy, the Resident Judge of New Castle County responsible for appointing the Library Board, and submitted a list of names of qualified and interested people willing to serve. They included John Dawson, Librarian of the University of Delaware and Russell Stauffer, head of the UD Reading Institute, John Eldridge, a very interested community person, and Carmen. Eventually Carmen became Chair of the Library Board. We visited other libraries in the area to find out how they were funded and operated. One part of our study was examining the finances relating to the Newark Free Library. Upon careful examination, I found that Newark was being taxed twice, once for the Newark Free Library District and once by New Castle County. The Library District’s tax was added to the Newark Special School District Tax Collection for convenience in collecting, although it was a separate tax. The other tax was collected by the County. We could find no monies or services coming from the County. Our next move was meeting with Henry Folsom, our County Councilman. At Marge Purcell’s suggestion that lunch was the best way to discuss situations, we invited him to a sandwich luncheon at her home. We explained our concern regarding double taxation and not receiving anything from the County. He was very cooperative, and said that he would look into it. We set a date for our next sandwich luncheon when he would report to us. He found that we were correct and that Newark should receive some services from the County for the Library. He agreed to work with us to improve the Library. The Library Board had bought a small house adjoining the Library. The Children’s Library moved into it thus gaining additional space. However, with two separate buildings, it made for difficult staffing and supervision. As the Library space expanded, so did the circulation. It took the four of us about two years of sandwich lunches before we came to the conclusion that forming an organization called Friends of the Newark Free Library was the best answer to improving our library. We ate a lot of sandwiches! The four of us worked on the objectives and the mechanics of a Friend’s organization. We set a date in February 1966 to form an organizational meeting. The night that we had set to explore the founding of a Friends Group was a very cold snowy night. It was in the Children’s Library, which was in a small house in an adjoining building. Although we had sent out 60 invitations to community leaders, we were concerned that very few would show up. Carmen’s son Kip helped move and set up the folding chairs from the funeral parlor. We were very relieved when people started coming in and we ran out of chairs. Carmen served as a Convener. The Group voted to form the Friends of the Newark Free Library. It was unanimous that we needed a new building with much more space. The new organization had its first meeting on March 24, 1966 at the Newark Episcopal Church when the group adopted the by-laws and elected Marge Purcell as our first President and other officers. There were approximately 100 charter members. In three years, the member ship of the FNFL grew to 380 members and the Library was functioning as a community library. The Friends started a newsletter and published book reviews in the Newark Post as well as a 10-week radio series. Children’s books were available. Marge Purcell was active in initiating the children’s story hour by Friends members. She remembered how important it was to her as a child. A display case was made by a member of the Friends and located at the entrance with changing displays. With the increase of population of Newark, greater demands were being made on the Library and the space in the former church and the adjoining building became very cramped. It was obvious that a new, larger building designed as a library was needed. I felt that we were well on our way to a new Library building. With the general agreement about the need for the Library to expand, an extended search for available property was made by the new Library Board. There was a very limited choice of property that met the requirements including: availability, parking and a central location. In addition, financing it was another challenge. It was then that I learned that a referendum to raise the money for civic improvement was not the “Delaware Way”. I was told that we should approach the foundations. It was almost unbelievable to me that a referendum was not needed. In those early days, the Friends were fortunate that it recruited Walter Dew to join the Friend’s Board. He recently had retired from the DuPont Company, where he had been in charge of corporate giving. He was very familiar with different sources of foundation money that might be available. It was through his knowledge and contacts that we were able to successfully approach the Foundations. The Library Fund for a new larger library received money from the Crystal Foundation, the Longwood Foundation, the Federal Government, the New Castle County Government, and the State of Delaware. Henry Folsom was responsible for the New Castle County contribution. Dick Cooch, when he was chairman of the Library Board, pledged to the City of Newark and local people that the Newark Free Library would not request additional funds if they supported the earlier purchase of the former Episcopal Church for the Library. The current board honored that pledge. Although I had been elected as President for a second term, with regret, I found it necessary to resign the position part way through as I had accepted a position at the University of Delaware and was aware that I could not do a good job both places. The new Library Building was built and completed in 1974. Since then, New Castle County built a needed expansion. During the following years the group of four women maintained their lifelong interest and kept active in various ways with the Friends and with the Library. Because of the major involvement over many years, the original four women: Carmen Nelson, Marge Purcell, Miriam Willis and I, Mae Carter, were given the honorary title of “The Bookends”. July I, 2013
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 14:23:37 +0000
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