A local Library Association was first formed in the Osceola County seat of Sibley in 1874. The association allowed membership at either a dollar or donation of books worth the equivalent amount, and books were kept in the County Recorder’s Office. By 1908, an agreement was reached so the city could lease the GAR Memorial Hall for one dollar per year for use as the Sibley Public Library.
In 1915, the community was awarded a Carnegie grant of $10,000. Land for the library was donated, and the new building was dedicated December 11, 1917. Since initial construction, two major improvement projects have been completed: a 1985 addition of a meeting room, genealogy room and children’s activity center, and a 2008 renovation project that included new carpet, new paint, and new furnishings. The refurbished library building held an open house in August 2009.
The first library in the Davis County seat of Bloomfield was organized in the 1870s in a second-story room within the Exchange Bank building on the northeast corner of the town square. Sixteen charter members of the library group paid five dollars for borrowing privileges, and a committee was established to grow the library’s collection. A grant from Andrew Carnegie was secured in November 1911, and shortly after, Bloomfield’s mayor appointed a Library board to oversee the building process. A site was selected and Des Moines-based Wetherell & Gage designed the $10,000 facility. The pressed brick and limestone building was dedicated in August 1913 and still serves as the library today.
Mount Ayr’s first formal library was established in November 15, 1913, with its initial collection of books donated from a number of local groups and individuals. After 18 months of operation, the library committee submitted a proposition to the voters to approve a maintenance tax to support the library. It was approved by a two-thirds majority, and the city officially began funding the library in July 1915.
At that time, a board was established, and they quickly applied for a grant from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation. Eight-thousand dollars was awarded to the community, and in August 1916, a contract was awarded to construct the building. Work was completed by the end of the year, and the library was officially dedicated January 3, 1917. The historic building, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, continues to serve residents of Mount Ayr and the surrounding areas.
The Ventura Public Library originated inside a local general store in 1968. Open six days a week, by the end of the first year, 5,885 books had been circulated to 385 registered borrowers. Library cards with numbers were assigned beginning in 1980, and in 1981, the Ventura Public Library aligned with the State Library of Iowa to participate in the Interlibrary Loan Program. The current library facility held its grand opening December 5, 1992.
Several days after the local Ladies Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle opened a reading room in 1894 above a local hardware store, the building and collection burned to the ground. Following the accident, the community came together, donating books and funds and forming the Public Library Association by the end of the year.By 1906, the Sheldon Public Library was looking for a larger space and received a $10,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie’s foundation. The new facility opened in 1908.
When the Public Library in the O’Brien County town of Sheldon moved to a new location in 1969, the grandiose Carnegie building sat empty for 7 years before it was taken over and repurposed by the county geological society. Now in its 35th year of existence, the Sheldon Prairie Museum includes displays of early local industry, Indian and animal artifacts, military and school exhibits, and the Sheldon Hall of Fame. The museum is open Monday evenings plus Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday afternoons.
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