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HAYS
EARLY LIBRARY HISTORYThe Saturday Afternoon Club, a literary club in Hays, wished to make a contribution to the benefit of the community, and formed the Saturday Afternoon Club Library Association on June 17, 1899. Each member was asked to pay $1.00 a year. The city was canvassed for the contribution of books and magazines, and on October 6, 1900, a library was opened.
In June, 1904, the Saturday Afternoon Club turned the library over to the city. It then became known as the Hays Free Public Library and a tax of one-tenth mill was voted by the city to support the library.
THE CARNEGIE LIBRARY
Although as early as 1902 the Saturday Afternoon Club Library Association had attempted to get a donation from Andrew Carnegie for a new building, it was not until 1910 when the promise of a grant was made. Mrs. Laura Wadsworth Madden wrote to Andrew Carnegie "and persisted in the work until a donation of $8,000.00 was granted." This promise was made April 28, 1910. A site on the courthouse square, on Chestnut Street, was suggested for the library; the county commissioners agreed and donated the lot. In May, the city council met and made an $800.00 appropriation for the library.
The building was designed by A. T. Simmons, an architect residing in Bloomington, Ill. He was paid $245.00 for his services. Plans and specifications were available for review in September, 1910, and the contract was awarded to Wise & Jacobs, of Hays, in late October, for $7,000.00. Work began at once. The building was opened July 22, 1911. The total cost of the building was $8,108.25. In addition to the $8,000.00 Carnegie grant, the Hays city council gave $64.45, and the building committee donated $42.00.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING
The building was rectangular, 50' x 37', one story above a raised basement. The exterior was of vitrified red brick with stone trim. Twin towers, of stone, with a flared arch, formed the front facade above the entrance. The building had a "tyle" roof. The interior was beautifully finished in golden oak and furnished throughout with Mission furniture of golden oak. The large doors had heavy French plate glass panels. There was a fireplace in the reading room. The original design of the building is virtually the same as that of the Carnegie library in Yates Center; both were designed by Simmons.
LATER LIBRARY HISTORY
The library received a beautiful cast of the marble statue of Sacajawea made by the celebrated sculptor, Cyrus E. Dallin, of Boston, in 1916. A bronze tablet, purchased through the Jane Hardie Philip Fund, was dedicated in 1936 by the Saturday Afternoon Club. The tablet honored the pioneer members of the club who founded the first library in 1899
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