In 1954, a new community building was constructed in the Jasper County town of Lynnville to house the city hall, post office, and fire station. The post office left the building in favor of a standalone facility in 1966, creating the opportunity for the Lynnville Public Library to move into the space. In 1995, the city council appointed a committee of citizens to undertake fundraising efforts for a new fire station and remodel the old station for a new library. The new fire station facility was completed in February 1996, while the new library space debuted in April.
After sixty years of operation, the public library in the Kossuth County town of Lakota moved to its current location on May 9, 1981. A ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house were held at the new location, after the Lakota City Council and Library Board agreed to switch locations. The library inherited the former town hall, which was constructed as a project of the Works Progress Administration in the 1930s. Many volunteers contributed time and labor toward the $15,000 interior remodeling project, which included new painting, shelving, and the repurposing of no-longer-needed city jail space.
In 2000, an open house celebrated recent State of Iowa accreditation, along with new carpet, painting, and restroom improvements.
Library services began in the Allamakee County town of Lansing in 1912, when the Lansing Library Association was organized. The group quickly found space on Main Street and allowed local residents to check out books from the library at a cost of $1 per year. Two local women’s groups managed the organization until 1935, when the library was given to the city and the Lansing Public Library was officially established.
The Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library was dedicated in August 2005. Funds for the building were provided by the namesake, the Meehan family, from nearby Harpers Ferry.
A small circulating library was first organized in the Benton County community of Keystone in the winter of 1914, but was quickly discontinued as usage dropped over the summer months. Several short-lived libraries existed before the current library was established in the basement of the Legion Hall in 1958.
The local Literary Club began an annual bazaar to support the library, and in 1967, the town council began to provide monetary support to the library organization. In 1975, residents Oscar and Alvena Schroeder purchased a cement block building on Main Street that had previously been used as a Laundromat. They donated the building to the town for use as a library. They also funded a large rear addition to the library in 1981; the library is now named in their honor.
The Schleswig Public Library was first organized as a study club in 1940, with meetings held in members’ homes. As residents, businesses, and service groups donated books and money, space was made in the city hall facility for a permanent library within a year. In 1966, the Iowa Telephone Company presented the community of Schleswig with a building to use as exclusively as a library. With over 10,000 items in its collection, the Schleswig Public Library continues to operate out of this building today.
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