Williams County Public Library, Bryan, Ohio
Posted by: 
boatchick
N 41° 28.487 W 084° 33.010
16T E 704556 N 4594361
After over a century, the Bryan Carnegie library is still going strong.
Waymark Code: WM4VBY
Location: Ohio, United States
Date Posted: 09/30/2008
Views: 18
The Bryan Library Association began in 1882 with a collection of books stored in a room above the bank. The Association later moved to the courthouse basement before getting their own building. A Carnegie grant was sought and obtained in 1902, and a vote was taken to decide where to build the new library. The site on East High Street was chosen, a local contractor, James Wineland, was hired, and construction began in October of 1903. In December of 1904, the library was dedicated, with a collection of 3500 books.
The white brick and stone building has undergone many changes over the years. The original domed roof was covered in 1955, then restored in 1984. The first expansion came in 1956, followed by the addition of the Ruth Edwards Markey Children’s Library in 1963. In the 1990s and 2000s, modernization has come about as the library became part of the Williams County Library System, and as computer labs were added and the library computerized the card catalog and inventory systems.
In a rather gory bit of library history, the Bryan library was the site of the 1946 murder of librarian Emily Abernathy. Local resident James Engle strangled the librarian, confessed to his crime, and served 30 years of a life sentence before being released on parole.