HISTORY OF JCPL

 LIBRARY SERVICE

Jennings County holds the distinction of being the first county in the United States to legislate for free county library service. In 1813, Colonel John Vawter, who plotted the town of Vernon, provided that ten percent of the sales from all town lots be set aside for the maintenance of a free public library for the County of Jennings.

The first record found of library service in Jennings County is in the Biennial Report of the State of Indiana, 1908-1910, which states that Jennings County had eight traveling libraries.

The first meeting of a legally authorized library board was August 17, 1917. In less than three years they were able to open the doors of the library to the public. The Carnegie Foundation gave the county $20,000 for the building and equipment.

Elizabeth Ronan, Indiana Library Commission was the first director of the Jennings County Public Library. She was placed in this position temporarily while the library was being built and was still there when it was dedicated on April 10, 1920. She was recalled by the Indiana Library Commission and was replaced by Mary O’Brien. Ms. O’Brien was replaced by Mrs. Isaac Caldwell who had previously worked at the Jeffersonville Township Public Library. All of this took place in 1920. The first Board of Trustees were Alice Rohrer, J.N. Culp, Everett Bemish, Eula Hutchings, Fay Hargshelmer, and Frank Layman.

Through the years reading stations were established out in the community, and the county became known as “The Reading County” of Indiana.

Changes came in the usage of space in the library. In 1966 the basement, which was originally a meeting room, became a children’s room. In one corner of this room genealogy and local history collections were established into a Heritage Room, a section known as “Around the Corner.”

A bookmobile service, called Jennie, was implemented in 1970 but discontinued in the early 1980′s.

An addition to the library was completed in 1975 which gave the library a street level entrance, as well as the original Carnegie entrance. The children’s collection was moved back upstairs, and all the adult collections were located in the lower level.

An effort was made to build a new building in 1981-1982, but the bond petition failed. A new building program was started in 1995. The bond issue passed without a single remonstrance signature.

The new library was dedicated on April 20, 1997. It is located on an eight-acre site and is a 33,972 square feet building.

• Total cost of building: $2,300,000 @ $68.00/sq.ft.

• Construction costs: $1,988,000 @ $59.00/sq.ft.

• Furniture and equipment: $183,637

• Site cost: $50,000

• Other costs: $123,363

• The bond was paid in full on December 31, 2006.

In August 2010 the county council rejected a $1.1 million bond option to renovate the library. In August 2011 the library undertook a scaled-back renovation project. The project consisted of expanding the children’s area, the genealogy/local history area, redesigning the main area, creating a teen area and a fourth smaller conference room. The teen area and the conference room were created in a space that was used as storage. The total cost of the renovation was $634,000. Harmon Construction, Inc. was the general contractor and Demco Library Interiors and Kim Bolan Cullin created the layout of the building

In 2014 the library became the largest net-zero energy public library in Indiana.