COME
CELEBRATE
WITH US!
On behalf of the Board of
Directors of the Siuslaw Public Library
District, I invite you to celebrate the
100th year of library service in Florence
by visiting the Florence or Mapleton
branch soon. I don’t remember my
fi rst visit to the library, as I lived just
across Laurel St. from the Florence
Public Library in my childhood and
was a regular patron there. To this day,
I am in love with our library, as it is a
community treasure. Th e library off ers
something for everyone! So when it
was suggested that I run for an open
seat on the library board, I was excited
to get involved. Like many municipal
districts (Fire, Ambulance, Soil and
Water Conservation and Schools
to name a few), the Siuslaw Public
Library District is a “special district”
- separate from the city, county and
state governments. Th e board of
fi ve directors is elected by the voting
residents of the district to represent
the community in library matters.
We meet monthly in an open-to-the-
public meeting to discuss the fi nances,
policies, and the state of the district.
Public attendance to our meetings is
encouraged and appreciated and all
public input is received with open
ears and given meaningful discussion
and appropriate action. I hope you’ll
consider attending one of our future
meetings. Finally, I would invite you to
learn about the Friends of the Library,
who are instrumental in promoting
the library, raising funds for special
purchases and hosting many friendly
receptions at the library. Enrich your
life, come on in. Hooray for libraries!
Ian Jarman
President, Siuslaw Public Library
District Board of Directors
History of the Siuslaw Public Library
Florence Library Circa 1936
“A reading room is one of the needs of Florence. Some
place should be provided where strangers can go to
spend a little time in reading when they happen to be
in town, and where laboring men can spend their
evenings quietly and pick up some information about
current events or glean some knowledge on some
subject in which they are interested…Who will take
up the matter and see what can be done?”
~Editorial by W.H. Weatherson in The West,
September 25, 1914
In 1914, the Women’s Conservation League took up W.H.
Weatherson’s challenge and the fi rst forerunner to today’s Siuslaw
Library opened its doors on May 7, 1915. Th e next 100 years is
the story of how that fi rst library evolved in to a Library District
that today serves more than 18,000 residents of Oregon’s western
Lane County, and how community support and forward-thinking
residents began a legacy that remains vital to this day.
Florence’s fi rst library opened in the Commercial Club, a
forerunner of the Chamber of Commerce. Mrs. John Safl ey was
the fi rst librarian. By the end of 1915, the library had received
its fi rst book donation from the state library (forty-two volumes
of a traveling collection). Th is generous donation boosted the
library’s inventory to nearly 150 items, a collection of books and
free pamphlets. Th e pamphlets included helpful information
such as: “Removal of garlic fl avor from milk and cream,” “How to
prevent typhoid fever,” and baby and child care brochures. While
the collection was small, the town wasn’t much larger; Florence
was a city of just 315 residents.
League and the assistance of the Commercial Club,
Florence can now boast of a public library. While the
number of books is not large, yet a beginning has
been made and the people will have a better chance
to obtain reading matter than they would otherwise.”
~Editorial by W.H. Weatherson in The West, July 23,
1915
In the early years, the library moved a number of times. In
addition to its initial home in the Commercial Club the Florence
Library served its residents from the Kyle building, rooms in the
old bank building, the Masonic Hall, and the old grade school
(later the Callison Building). Th e library was even moved once by
wheelbarrow!
In 1936 the
Library received yet
another new home
when the Oregon
State
Highway
Commission
donated two small
construction
buildings
that
the agency no
longer
needed
once construction
of the Siuslaw
River Bridge was
completed.
Th e
buildings
were
located in Glenada,
so Florence city
offi cials
moved
Mrs. Ken Luce and Mrs. Alice Hanson
them by truck to an
show off music records available for
checkout, early 1960s
area behind the old
Cooper building on
Bay Street and paid
$600 to have the building connected for library use. Th e library
was named in memory of long-time librarian Anne Dudley and
opened with a reception on December 10, 1936. Th e library housed
a 900-volume collection: much more than a wheelbarrow-full.
“This institution is a real credit to Florence and is
largely due to the untiring efforts of the librarian who
has kept at it until a small handful of books housed
first here and there has developed into 900 volumes,
properly cataloged and now in a commodiou s
shelving where there is plenty of room to grow.”
~ The Oar, December 11, 1936
“Thanks to the Siuslaw Women’s Conservation
Congratulations
from Leroy Krzycki
We thank you
for your many
years of service to
Florence Mexican Restaurant our community!
Quiet Waters Publishing
541-997-8940
2 - Siuslaw Public Library District Celebrating 100 Years | May 6, 2015
2885 Hwy 101,
Florence, OR 97439
541-997-1144
Congratulations!