About 25 supporters of Monroe County Library attended the Library’s Centennial Celebration gathering on Wednesday morning.
The event, which was 100 years in the making, was organized by Monroe County Librarian Kimberly Clayton and her staff. Clayton, Monroe County Library Board Chairperson Taylor Bittick, Monroe County Library staffer David Barbee, and Flint River Regional Library System Director Natalie Marshall spoke at Wednesday’s festivity while Monroe County Commission Chairman Greg Tapley read aloud a proclamation commemorating the Library’s 100th anniversary.
Clayton noted that the Library, founded in August 1922 by the Forsyth Woman’s Club, has remained a “centerpiece” of the fabric of Monroe County for an entire century and said she considers it “a great honor” to continue on the legacy of Monroe County Library’s founders.
Clayton said, “What began in one small location became a larger, never-ending gift to the community.”
Bittick said all Monroe County citizens, even those aren’t frequent users of Monroe County Library, benefit from its community presence because “you benefit from living in an educated and a literate society.”
Barbee highlighted Monroe County Library’s humble beginnings, starting in a single room of the old Masonic Hall on North Jackson Street before moving to its current location at 62 West Main Street, which was the former home of the Monroe County Jail. Barbee said long before he became an employee of Monroe County Library, he was a patron of the Library, visiting it ever since he was five years old.
“It’s a great library,” Barbee said. “I’ve been coming here since I was a kid, so I can tell you from personal experience it’s really nice even though they got rid of those couch cushions I used to play on over there. . . And now I work here. I’m very lucky to work here. I consider it a privilege. I kind of do what I love now. I get to hang around with books and other book people.”
Marshall said “libraries are universal and personal” and have great and different meanings to everyone who utilizes them. She noted that libraries exist for all types of usages, including for adults to read and enjoy technology, for children to listen to story time, and even for leaders to hold business meetings. Marshall then commended Monroe County Library on its work in focusing on the needs of the Monroe County community.
“You can be a part of the larger world, the larger library community and then also be super attentive to the needs of the people that you have here,” Marshall said. “I think that’s what’s made the Monroe County Library in particular a success through 100 years through several buildings and several renovations.”
After Chairman Tapley read aloud a proclamation honoring the Library, Clayton unveiled a plaque with the names and service dates of the 11 previous Monroe County Librarians: Mrs. Charles T. Brown, Miss Vivian Pettis, Miss Louise Anderson, Miss Martha Worsham, Mrs. George L. Stegall, Mrs. Lewis Smith, Mrs. Albert Wyatt, Mrs. Jean Jackson, Mrs. Marilyn Smith, Mrs. Debbie Melton, and Miss Lauren Mullins.
To close out the 30-minute program, Monroe County Assistant Librarian Marisha Crowder placed some items in a time capsule to be buried outside the Library and dug up in 25 years at the Library’s 125th anniversary celebration. Among the items included in the capsule was a Monroe County Library Centennial Celebration bookmark designed by local youth Emily Shanks, who was present to drop the bookmark into the time capsule.
At the conclusion of the program, attendees were invited to stick around and enjoy refreshments, including Centennial cupcakes, as well as tour the library facility to see all the cool things the library has to offer, including a 3D printer.
District 2 Commissioner Eddie Rowland, Chairman Tapley, and Monroe County Manager Jim Hedges were among the local leaders in attendance at Wednesday’s Centennial Celebration.
