Scurry County Library celebrates 60th anniversary with history program

Scurry County Library’s 60th anniversary will be observed with a yearlong celebration. The Friends of the Library will host a series of monthly programs titled 60 Years of Reading and Information. 

The celebration kicked off Jan. 18 with a program about the library’s history.

“This library started between my 5th and 6th grade year, and my mother was very intent on us reading,” Friends of the Library President Janie Romine said. “After the library came, this was our stop every Saturday.”

Plans for the library began in March 1956, a year in which Romine describes Snyder as “booming.” The Scurry County Commissioners’ Court set a date for a $205,000 bond issue for the parks, airport and county library. On April 21, 1956, voters passed each bond, which resulted in $90,000 for rebuilding and equipping a library, $65,000 for purchasing and improving land for parks and $50,000 for enlarging and improving the airport.

On April 23, 1956, a special commissioners’ meeting was held, and Butler-Kimmel Architects from Lubbock were employed to design the library building. T.E. Shelburne and Sons were contracted to construct the building, and construction was completed in Aug. 1957.

“In August 1957, a library board was named,” Romine said. “Each commissioner named two people from that precinct.” 

Following the completion of the building and the naming of the board, the county’s first librarian was named. 

“Mrs. Doris Nesbitt from Midland Public Library was named librarian in Oct. 1957,” Romine said. “Her annual salary was $5,000 per year, which doesn’t seem like much but was pretty good for the time.” 

By the beginning of 1958 the building was finished and staff hired, but the library lacked shelving and furniture, which had been delayed until June 1958. 

In the meantime, volunteers helped the library get ready for the opening and collected donations. Contributors included the Jaycee-ettes, American Association of University Women, Altrurian Daughters Club and Snyder Junior Chamber of Commerce.

The library finally opened in June 1958 with a summer reading program. Close to 2,000 visitors passed through the doors during its first month of operation. 

Over the summer, Nesbitt resigned as librarian and was replaced by Mary Nell Smith. Another addition was a contract for a bookmobile to be delivered in the fall. 

In September 1958, the library’s bookmobile arrived and began making its rounds throughout the county. The vehicle was driven by Mrs. Harry Lee, who swiveled the driver seat around to checkout books during stops.

“The bookmobile made stops at Ira, Hermleigh, Dunn, Camp Springs and Fluvanna,” Romine said. “Later on, it began making stops in Union.”

In the fall of 1959, the library opened a branch at the Lincoln School. It was open for students during the day and on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings for adults.

The 1960s brought new technology and collections to the library. The library added records, microfilm, 60 periodicals, six newspapers, Texas census records, a photocopy machine and a telex machine. 

“In 1967, there was a reciprocal agreement between Mitchell County and Scurry County,” Romine said. “If you held a library card from either county, you could check out books in either county. Eventually it started where you could go to all the libraries in the area.” 

In 1973, the community began to outgrow the library and an additional 4,400 square feet were needed to meet standards for the population. Voters approved the expansion in 1975. Burdock Construction Company completed the $86,940 expansion in 1976. It included new shelving and furniture.

In the 1980s, the library once again added new technology and services, including 16 mm films and projectors, Polaroid cameras, Internal Revenue Service forms, an outside backdrop, delivery of large-print books to the Senior Citizen Center, a new library branch at the Child Development Center and a small laminator. 

The library was named a certified Texas Heritage Resource Center by the Texas Heritage Project of the Texas Historical Foundation in 1982. At the time, the library contained over 1,000 books about Texas history, files and microfilm of Texas censuses, 10 Texas periodicals and quarterlies of Texas Genealogical Societies.

In 1984, Mary Nell (Smith) Bullard resigned from her position as head librarian after 26 years of service. She was succeeded by Janice Mitchell, Noreen Taylor, Romine, Karen Wallace and current librarian Linda Jones. 

The 1980s and 90s brought the Big Country Library System to Abilene. The system served the largest area of Texas and eventually provided a computer expert. By 1998, 72 percent of Texas public libraries were in rural areas. 

The 1990s saw the library transition to the digital age, bringing several computers, automated checkout service, online catalog, adult ESL (English as a Second Language) classes and a microfilm reader and printer purchased through a Tocker Grant. 

Tocker Grants continued to be integral at the library in the 2000s. Grants funded all books being converted to an online catalog, more computers for catalog and Internet use by public, a new front counter and young adult furniture. Other additions to the library included a larger laminator, new classics books, a genealogy room, DVDs to replace VHS, overdrive for Kindle and Nook users and a library website.

As the library reaches its 60th year of operation, the Friends of the Library will continue to celebrate the anniversary throughout the year. The next program will be held Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. at the library. Historic Scurry County, Inc., will discuss the history of the library building and how it has evolved.