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On October 10, 1956, six women formed the Linwood Library
Club and borrowed $6.00 (six dollars) from the Linwood Lions Club.
The women used the money to borrow a collection of books from the Kansas
State Library Traveling Library. The Club members solicited donations and
held bake sales and farm sales so they could hire their first librarian,
Mrs. Nell Duncan, and acquire books for patrons to check out.
In 1976 the ladies of the Linwood Library Club and other community members
carried petitions for a District Library to be established, a modern
tax-supported library with new books on the shelves and all the conveniences
of any library in the state of Kansas. In April 1977 the election was held
and Linwood Community Library Dist. No.1 was established with boundaries
drawn up by a committee of community members.
Because the library was established under K.S.A.12-1236, Larry Scheller,
Leavenworth County Clerk, met with voters of the community on August 8,
1977, to elect the first board of directors, Jeff Coatney, Robin Leach,
Dorothy Moulden, Secretary, Aubrey Schroeder, Juanita Sheets, Chairman,
George Torneden, Treasurer, and Opal Wilson. Because the board is
established by Kansas Statutes, it must conduct its business by the laws of
the state. Members have to take an oath to conduct their business and
support the constitution as required by law.
The Mission Statement of the Linwood Community Library District No.1 is:
"The Mission of the Linwood Community Library is to serve as the center of
community resources and information. The collection, programs, and services
of the library should reflect the lifelong learning needs of its patrons and
respond to their informational, cultural and recreational interests."
In keeping with those first six ladies in 1956 who had always wanted a
modern library with a place to hold meetings in Linwood, the library board
began planning for such a facility. In 1979 when the board started to move
forward there was yet another bond issue before the voters, so they
researched the possibility of a long term loan. It was illegal for a tax
supported board to borrow funds for the project so the Linwood Development
Corp. was formed to borrow the money and manage the building until it was
paid for. The community members who met to form the corporation carefully
figured how much the library would have to pay to make the yearly payments.
Once this was determined that is the rent the Linwood Community Library was
to pay. When utilities went up a number of years ago, the library
volunteered to raise their rent as well as continuing to pay one-half of the
monthly utility bills.
Every year one or two positions are open for election on the Library Board.
As is true of most positions where you receive no compensation for your time
spent, we have some trouble finding dedicated people who wish to run for the
office. Since we have to be sure everything is done according to Kansas
Statutes, board members have great responsibility. Also , being a small
library, many times a board member has to volunteer to help carry out the
day-to-day work of the library. The library is on a very tight budget and to
keep up with standards set for libraries of our size, we are required to
purchase things for which our patrons might question the need. Board members
are appointed to Personnel, Programming, Building Maintenance, and Financial
Committees. The board is governed by the Open Meeting and Open Record Laws.
Everyone is welcome to attend the meetings and let us know what you would
like In the library and what programs you would like us to have.
If you would like to see a sample of the historical
photos we have at the library, you may view our online
photo album. |
