On February 2, 1910, the Little Rock Public Library officially opened its doors. There had been an open house the night before, but this was the first day of acquiring a library card and checking out books.
Various private libraries had existed sporadically in Little Rock throughout the 19th Century. In November 1900, a Little Rock School District committee made the first inquiry into the the creation of a Carnegie Library in Little Rock. Over the next several years, numerous entreaties were made, but funding for the City’s portion was an obstacle. On December 17, 1906, the Little Rock City Council passed an ordinance to move forward with building, furnishing and equipping a library. Finally, in February 1908, the City approved acceptance of $88,100 from Andrew Carnegie. The building would be designed by Edward Tilton, who designed Carnegie libraries, working with local architect Charles Thompson.
Mary Maud Pugsley was hired as the first librarian for Little Rock in May 1909. She began her duties on September 15, 1909, in order to get ready for the opening of the library at the southwest corner of 7th and Louisiana Streets.
On February 2, 1910, formal circulation of books began. J. N. Heiskell was issued library card number 1. He was secretary of the Library’s Board of Trustees and had long been an advocate for a public library in Little Rock. He had often used his bully pulpit as editor of the Arkansas Gazette to advocate for a public library since arriving in Little Rock in 1902. (Years later — he lived until 1972 — he received a replica of the library card made out of gold.)
That first day of operation, 500 people had applied for library cards. The application process required one to be a Little Rock property owner or to have a property owner sign the application.
Within the first year of operation, 2.5% of Little Rock’s population of 45,951 had applied for a library card.
For more on the history of the transformation of the Little Rock Public Library into the Central Arkansas Library System, read Shirley Schuette and Nathania Sawyer’s From Carnegie to Cyberspace — 100 Years at the Central Arkansas Library System, published by Butler Center Books.
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