Ontario City Library, Ontario, California

January 12, 2024 ~ Administrator - The Library Card Museum ~ Leave a comment

1961-1964 Ontario City Library Card for Chaffey High School Students

1961-1964 Library Card issued to Chaffey High School students for use at the Ontario City Library (front)
(living person information redacted)

1961-1964 Library Card issued to Chaffey High School students for use at the Ontario City Library (back)

Ontario, California – The Chaffey Brothers’ Vision

Ontario, California, circa 1887, published by H.S. Crocker Co.
Pre-1923 public domain publication. No known copyright restrictions.

In 1881, brothers William B. (1856-1926) and George Chaffey, Jr. (1848-1938), both engineers from Brockville, Ontario, Canada, began purchasing parcels of land in Southern California with the intention of creating “irrigation colonies” complete with water resources, water-powered cable cars, grand avenues illuminated with electric lights, and convenient access to the existing Southern Pacific Railway. Those land purchases became the Etiwanda, Upland, and Ontario Settlements. Due to the mild winter climate and easy access to water from the nearby mountains, citrus farmers were some of the first landowners in Ontario.

Advertisement announcing the town and settlement of Ontario. Ten-acre and 120-acre parcels were sold for $150-250 per acre.
Pomona Times-Courier, 23 Dec 1882, Sat ·Page 3

Ontario City Library

The Ontario City Library was established in 1885, according to Publication No. 3, “The Libraries of California in 1899”, which was published by the Library Association of California in April 1900. Although it was organized by the town of Ontario, the library earned its revenue through annual subscriptions of $1.00 and community fund-raising events, such as citrus fairs and concerts. Not until 1902 would the library become a free public library.

One of the earliest newspaper mentions of the “Ontario Public Library” was in 1886 when Richard Gird, a successful silver miner and local real estate investor from Tombstone, Arizona, donated fifty volumes to the “Ontario Public Library.”

Los Angeles Herald, 04 Jun 1886, Fri · Page 5

In 1894, for the first time, the Trustees of the California State Library recognized and included the “Ontario Public Library” in the fiscal report for the Forty-Fourth and Forty-Fifth Fiscal Years (July 1, 1892 to June 30, 1894). It was noted that the library was “too recently organized to furnish statistics.”

One of the earliest locations of the library was at the southwest corner of A Street (now Holt’s Boulevard) and Euclid Avenue in a 2-story brick building known as the Ohio Block. The Ohio Block was built by Miss Eleanor Freeman (1848-1904) in 1888. Freeman, originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, was so charmed by the weather in Ontario that a temporary three-week stay resulted in the purchase of a twenty-acre tract of land. Freeman and her niece, Mary Ellen Agnew (1851-1914), served as the first librarians.

The Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug 1885, Sat ·Page 4

Built in 1888, the Ohio Block was razed in 1931. Photo Source: City of Ontario Facebook Page/Robert E. Ellingwood Model Colony History Room. No known Copyright restrictions.

Euclid Avenue Postcard, circa 1905. Originally published by Brück & Sohn Kunstverlag (Germany).
Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

“Euclid Avenue in Winter,” circa 1905-1910. Photographer: John Bowers. (1865-1911)
Pre-1923 public domain postcard. No known copyright restrictions.

In 1903, the “Ontario Public Library” requested assistance from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to secure funds for the construction of a new library building. In April 1906, after receiving a donation of $10,000 towards the project, the head librarian, Miss Kezzie A. Monroe, visited the Covina Public Library in California, which had opened in 1905. She gathered ideas from the library tour, and Architect F.P. Burnham was hired to prepare plans for the new Ontario library building. On April 13, 1907, the new library building located at D Street and Euclid Avenue opened, stocked with approximately 3,400 volumes with plenty of room for growth.

Daily Times-Index, 26 Jan 1903, Mon ·Page 2

Long Beach Tribune, 16 Apr 1907, Tue ·Page 2

Ontario Public Library. Pre-1923 public domain postcard. No copyright restrictions.

Over the next decade, the library saw steady growth in inventory and readership, and, once again, additional space was needed, as reported by the head librarian, Miss Monroe, in the 1919 annual report.

Los Angeles Evening Express, 29 Jul 1919, Tue ·Page 2

In the meantime, the Library faced trials and tribulations, such as unwanted neighbors, bees, and pests! Oh my!

The San Bernardino County Sun, 07 Apr 1921, Thu ·Page 11

As a result of vigorous action by the community to halt the conversion, Mr. Owen announced that he had “no desire to offend the people of Ontario and would place the property on the market and seek another site.”¹

The Pasadena Post, 16 May 1929, Thu ·Page 17

The Los Angeles Times, 29 Jun 1930, Sun ·Page 52

On July 22, 1932, the newly expanded (and insect-free!) Carnegie Library building was opened to the public. The new wing, designed by Los Angeles Architect Harry L. Pierce, nearly doubled the floor space and reading rooms.

By mid-1943, the Library Board again proposed constructing a new library building. However, the selection of a new site would prove daunting. In April 1948, the Board purchased an additional lot adjoining the library property at D Street and Euclid Avenue, but an ongoing disagreement regarding the new library’s location lingered. In October 1953, the City Planning Commission approved a site at G Street and Euclid Avenue. However, having never officially reached an agreement for a new location, the library eventually fell into disrepair, and in July 1959, the library building was closed to the public, forcing the librarian to process loans and returns at the front door.

Progress-Bulletin, 29 Jul 1959, Wed ·Page 61

By August, the former Jack Clark Buick Co. building at 302 E. B Street was leased for use as a temporary library location. The building included a showroom, garage, and a much-needed parking lot. The temporary quarters opened on September 15 after the building’s interior was revamped for use as a library by the installation of new library shelving and 700 ft. of new fluorescent lighting. The former showroom was converted into the main reading room, and the builk of the library’s 60,000 volumes was available in the former garage.

Jack Clark Buick Co. Newspaper Advertisement, The Los Angeles Times, 12 Jun 1955, Sun ·Page 162

Site of the temporary library, the Jack Clark Buick Co. building, Progress-Bulletin, 05 Aug 1959, Wed ·Page 57

Plans for the construction of a permanent library building on the north side of C Street between Lemon and Plum Avenues were put into motion almost immediately. By February 1960, a construction contract had been awarded to the Campbell Construction Co. of Ontario. The new library was opened to the public in mid-December 1960 and formally dedicated on January 16, 1961.

Architect’s (Dewey Harnish & Associate) rendering of the new library, Progress-Bulletin, 29 Apr 1960, Fri ·Page 21

Early 1960s postcard of the Ontario City Library. Publisher: Columbia Wholesale Supply. No known copyright restrictions

Library expansion was back in the news by April 1968 when voters overwhelmingly approved a $370,000 bond for the project. Architects Harnish, Morgan & Causey were contracted, and the expansion project began in January 1969. As part of a multi-phase plan, the library would eventually extend to the east of Plum Street. The library was expanded from 18,500 to 42,500 sq ft and was dedicated on March 1, 1970.

Late 1970s Ontario City Library card pocket and due date slip

In 2002, the library began another expansion project, which would add an additional 11,000 sq ft. During the construction, the library was temporarily housed at the Ontario Ranch Market at 120 E. D Street. Purchase, renovation, and relocation to the temporary location cost upwards of $3M.

The Ontario City Library after renovations (2006) Photo by Rockero (Wikimedia Commons). Public Domain – no copyright restrictions.

In 2010, the Ontario City Council renamed the library to the Ovitt Family Community Library in honor of the Ovitt family’s years of service to the city of Ontario. The Ovitt Library continues to operate at 215 E. C Street in Ontario.

Library of Hawaii, Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii

June 20, 2021February 6, 2022 ~ Administrator - The Library Card Museum ~ 2 Comments

Pre-1954 Library of Hawaii Borrower’s Card No. M 8144 issued to Mrs. Margaret B. Jennings

Library of Hawaii

The Library of Hawaii, had its official beginning in 1909, when on April 17^th of that year, the Territorial Governor of Hawaii, Walter Francis Frear (1863-1948), signed House Bill No. 143, Act 83, entitled “An Act to provide for the establishment and maintenance of the Library of Hawaii.” ¹

Prior to the passing of the Bill, Governor Frear met with Andrew “Andy” Carnegie to discuss Carnegie’s offer of $100,000 to build a new public library building. By selling the property at the corner of Alakea and Hotel Streets, which was occupied by the The Honolulu Library and Reading Room Association (a membership library established in 1879), the proceeds of the sale would aid in the establishment of the proposed public circulating library. In addition, the Association’s 20,000 volume inventory would be transferred to the proposed public library.²

^{The Honolulu Library and Reading Room Association at Alakea and Hotel Streets. Pre-1910. Photo by Ray Jerome Baker from the Bernice P. Bishop Museum, R. J. Baker Collection of the Kamehameha Preparatory Department. (Public Domain)}

The Carnegie Library

In May 1910, it was announced that New York architect, Henry Davis Whitfield, Andrew Carnegie’s brother-in-law, was chosen to design the new library, and Honolulu architect, Henry Livingstone Kerr, would supervise the construction of the building.³ Whitfield, who also designed Eaton Hall at Tufts University (1908) and the Federal Building in Hilo, Hawaii (1915), was considered at the time to be the world’s foremost expert on library design, having already designed many of the larger Carnegie libraries. Kerr designed over 900 buildings in Hawaii, including Honolulu’s historic McCandless Building (1906) and the Yokohama Specie Bank Building (1910).

Construction of the new Library building began on Saturday, October 21, 1911, when a two by three foot by twenty inch ironstone cornerstore, inscribed “Library of Hawaii, 1911,”⁴ was laid by members of the Hawaiian Lodge during an elaborate ceremony officiated by the Masons.

The Library Opens

On February 1, 1913, the Library of Hawaii opened to the public with much enthusiasm. Governor Frear, the recipient of Card No. 1, was issued the first book, “The Government of Our Cities,” by W. B. Munro, by the Librarian,Miss Allyn. A free concert by the Hawaiian Band, and speeches by Chairman A. Lewis, Jr., of the Library Board, and Prof. M. M. Scott of the Honolulu Library and Reading Room Association proceeded the official opening of the doors to the public.⁵

^{The Sunday Advertiser, Honolulu, Hawaii, February 2, 1913, page 10;}

The two-story Mediterranean Revival style building located at 478 South King Street in Honolulu, was fronted by the signature Carnegie columns. Inside, patrons were greeted by an airy and spacious front delivery area, separate children’s area, catalogue, reading and reference rooms. A lanai reading room, and separate lecture, study, and children’s story rooms were located on the second floor In addition to the new library building, a traveling library was instituted to ensure citizens on islands other than O’ahu would have access to the new public service.⁶

*^{Pre-1923 photograph by Rice and Perkins.(Public Domain)}*

In 1927, much needed renovations to expand the building were approved by the territory legislature. Two wings were added to the original building, as well as an open-air courtyard in the middle.

In 1978, the building was designated a historic site and was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Library of Hawaii is now part of the Hawaii State Public Library System, which is comprised of fifty-one libraries on all of the major islands. The library system contains over 3 million books and reference materials.

Margaret B. Jennings

Margaret Bronson Jennings (1924-2018) born February 15, 1924 in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was an LSU fan and a member and officer of the Krewe of Attakapas.

Sources: [1] The Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu, Hawaii, April 17, 1909, page 2; [2] The Hawaiian Star, Honolulu, Hawaii, March 26, 1909, page 4; [3] The Hawaiian Star, Honolulu, Hawaii, May 21, 1910, page 5; [4] The Hawaiian Star, Honolulu, Hawaii, October 16, 1911, page 8; [5] The Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu, Hawaii, February 1, 1913, page 10; [6] The Sunday Advertiser, Honolulu, Hawaii, February 2, 1913, page 10.

Freeport Public Library, Freeport, Illinois

December 8, 2019December 10, 2019 ~ Administrator - The Library Card Museum ~ Leave a comment

Pre-1937 Freeport Public Library Borrower’s Card No. 4873 issued to Marian E. Holmes

Freeport Public Library, Freeport, Illinois

The Freeport Public Library had modest beginnings in 1874 as a small collection of 250 volumes housed in a spare room at the YMCA, which was located over Emmert & Burrell’s drug store at 111 Stephenson Street in Freeport. A subscription fee of 75 cents quarterly permitted the subscriber to borrow books every Saturday afternoon and Wednesday evening. In 1889, the YMCA opened a new building at a site formerly occupied by the First Presbyterian Church at Walnut and Stephenson and made room for the small library.

The *Y.M.C.A. building at Walnut and Stephenson Streets, Freeport, IL, second home of the Freeport Library (Public Domain Pre-1923 postcard)*

On February 21, 1901, the Carnegie Corporation provided a $30,000 grant to build a new public library building. In 1902, the new public library opened at 314 West Stephenson Street with 19,000 volumes. Designed by Patton and Miller of Chicago, the new library was the first Carnegie library in Illinois. By 1924, the library had issued over 1,200 library cards and inventory had increased to over 43,000 volumes. As the years passed, the city outgrew the West Stephenson Street building, so in 1991 plans were put into motion to construct a new, modernized building. After years of planning, a new 40,000 sf building was opened on Douglas Street in 2002. In 2017, the old Carnegie building underwent a $2.3M renovation and now serves as Freeport’s City Hall.

*Freeport Public Library (Public Domain Pre-1923 postcard)*

Marian E. Holmes

Marian Elaine Holmes was born in Illinois on May 5, 1889. She married Lloyd Eugene Holmes (1886-1930) and had one son, Stanley Campbell Holmes (1929-2005). After being widowed in 1930, she and Stanley moved to Florida where she was a bookkeeper and secretary. She died in Panama City, Florida in 1966.

New York Public Library, Fordham Branch, Bronx, New York

August 11, 2019May 25, 2020 ~ Administrator - The Library Card Museum ~ Leave a comment

1957 Borrower’s Card No. 6N-8530 Issued to Elliot I. Walsey

*The New York Public Library (Bainbridge Avenue/Fordham Branch), Bronx, New York (Source: Wikimedia Commons/Julian A. Henderson) (Usage: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)(cropped)*

The Fordham Branch Library building, designed by the prominent New York architectural firm McKim, Mead and White, who was known for designing the main New York Public Library in Manhattan, opened for circulation on September 24, 1923.

*“Realty Notes,” New York Times Newspaper, May 25, 1923*

The New York Public Library, Fordham Branch, was one of many public libraries and public buildings endowed by steel magnate, Andrew Carnegie. In the latter years of his life, he believed the rich had a responsibility to “improve society,” and hence, donated $350M (equal to over $5B today) to the construction of over 3,000 libraries and public spaces in his birthplace, Scotland, the United States, and around the world.

*Andrew Carnegie by Theodore C. Marceau (1913) (Source: Library of Congress)*
*(Usage: Public Domain)*

The “Fordham Branch Library” having become too small to accommodate neighborhood needs, closed in November 2005 and reopened as the Bronx Library Center at 301 East Kingsbridge Road on January 17, 2006. The new 78,000 square-foot facility is a state-of-the-art, green library that houses the New York Public Library’s premiere Latino and Puerto Rican Heritage Collection.

*The Bronx Library Center (Kingsbridge Road), Bronx, New York*
*(Source: Wikimedia Commons/Julian A. Henderson)*
*(Usage: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)(cropped)*

Elliot I. Walsey (1938-2012)

Elliot Ira Walsey, born September 26, 1938 in New York, New York, was an American business owner. He was the founder and former President of Benchmark Graphics, Ltd.

The Public Library, Washington, DC (Also Known as the Carnegie Library)

August 11, 2019March 28, 2022 ~ Administrator - The Library Card Museum ~ Leave a comment

1908 Card No. 84399 and 1909 Special Card No. 84399 Issued to Lewis Radcliffe

*Library Card for the Public Library, Washington, DC (front)*

*Library Card for the Public Library, Washington, DC (back)*

*Special Card (teacher) for the Public Library, Washington, DC (front)*

The Public Library, Washington, DC

The Public Library of Washington, DC, also known as The Carnegie Library or Central Public Library, is located in Mount Vernon Square at 8th and K Streets, NW. The Beaux-Arts building, designed by New York-based Ackerman & Ross, was dedicated by President Theodore Roosevelt and benefactor, Andrew Carnegie, on January 7, 1903. The Carnegie Library was the first public library in Washington, DC, as well as the first desegregated public building in the Nation’s Capitol.

The Public Library of Washington, DC was one of many public libraries and public buildings endowed by steel magnate, Andrew Carnegie. In the latter years of his life, he believed the rich had a responsibility to “improve society,” and hence, donated $350M (equal to over $5B today) to the construction of over 3,000 libraries and public spaces in his birthplace, Scotland, the United States, and around the world.

Andrew Carnegie – Photo by Theodore C. Marceau (1913)
(Source: Library of Congress Usage: Public Domain)

The “Central Public Library” was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. In use for over 70 years as the main public library in Washington, DC, the Carnegie Library, after undergoing a $30M historic renovation, is currently the cite of the Apple Carnegie Library, a multi-discipline learning center, which houses the DC History Center, Kiplinger Research Library, three galleries, a museum store and an Apple products showroom.

Lewis Radcliffe (1880-1950)

*Lewis Radcliffe (Source: Binghamton Press, October 28, 1927*

Lewis Radcliffe, born January 2, 1880 in Savannah, New York was an American naturalist, malacologist, and ichthyologist. Educated at Cornell University (B.A. 1905) and George Washington University (M.S. 1915), Radcliffe served as Deputy Commissioner of the United States Bureau of Fisheries until 1932. He was also the director of the Oyster Institute of North America until his death in 1950.