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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2004-12-08, Page 14Page 14 12/7/04 9:53 AM Page 1 HD- Ts_,�rxA,�. Cros�.tisroads 14 Wednesday, December 8, 2004 Exeter Times Advocate Eighty-five years of history in The Lamps of Freedom' By Pat Bolen TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF ZURICH — For the 85 years of its existence, the Zurich library has had a varied history, from its beginning in 1919, to its location at the back of a shoe store to ceasing operation entirely for a period in the 1930s and 40s. As the library pre- pares for the next phase of its life with a move to a new location, the his- tory of the library has been documented for the first time by current librarian Michael Dawber. Dawber has written 'The Lamps of Freedom: A Brief History of Zurich Library, 1919-2004' which will be launched Dec. 16 at an open house at the Zurich Library celebrating the 85th anniversary. The open house will run from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. with copies of the book available. Dawber, who came up with the idea, has been working on the project since the spring along with the Friends of the Zurich Library, who he said were a key to the project. He said the group helped track down photos for the book and it was a col- lective effort. "It's a good opportuni- ty to remind residents how long it has been here," said Dawber. "It's almost past living memory and the earliest parts are fading away." It was a lot of leg work to reconstruct the details, according to Dawber as most of the earliest records are no longer around, but between archives and interviews he was able find much of the infor- mation. The library has called five locations home in its 85 years, starting in the home of the first librarian, Lydia Faust, on Goshen Street south. Beginning with 300 books, the library had a circulation of 977 the first year, which would grow to just over 1,800 by 1931. By 1934, with the retirement of Faust, a new librarian was need- ed, as well as new facili- ties which were found in the jewelry store of Albert Hess on the south side of Main Street. Dawber said Hess was forgotten as one of the librarians over the years, but while going through back issues of the Zurich Herald found mention of him and was able to contact his daughter who he said was very helpful. But as the Depression continued in the late 1930s, the library faced tougher times and was closed by 1941, remain- ing that way throughout the Second World War. But with the end of the war in 1945, interest was quickly renewed in bringing the library back to life. A new site was the biggest challenge but was solved when Keith Westlake offered his furniture store at the northeast corner of Goshen and Main as a location and by 1949 the library well estab- lished with Westlake as the librarian. Circulation was up to almost 3,000 bt 1953, a year which marked another milestone for the library with another move and the arrival of who would become the longest serving librari- an, Lennita Oesch. For over the next 20 years at the Oesch resi- dence, which also included a flower shop and Oesch's shoe store, the Zurich Library remained busy with cir- culation holding at over 2,000 throughout the `50s. With a magazine bud- get of $28, readers could choose from sev- eral different magazines including Readers Digest, National Geographic and Macleans. The Zurich Library was part of the County Library Co-operative which had a total of 34 public or association libraries, including Exeter, Crediton, Dashwood, Goderich, Varna, Kirkton and Hensall. The library began a new chapter in the late 1960s with the estab- lishment of the county library system and Feb. 14, 1967, the Zurich Library Board held its final meeting. But a bigger change was on the horizon, another new location for the library. With the new resources offered by the County Library system, additional room was needed and for the first time, the Zurich Library would have a home designed specifically for it. The new location would be in the lower level of the new Zurich Municipal Building at Frederick and Main and in December 1974 the library collection was moved into its 834 square feet of space which allowed circula- tion to rise to almost 12,000 by 1979. With the library in its new home, librarian Oesch was almost at the end of her tenure and the search was begun for a replacement. Filling the job for the next six years would be Beatrice Rader, fol- lowed by Flo Murray from 1984 until 1987. Under the leadership of the two, the library continued to prosper, reaching a new circula- tion high of 16,505 by 1987. The library continued to grow under Helene Ducharme, with extra hours added, and talks began about another expansion, to keep up with demand and allow disabled access. The library continued to change during the 1990s to keep up with technology, hooking up to the internet in 1997, with some of the older library traditions disap- pearing, as the vertical file was eliminated. As internet use soared, regular book circulation dropped slightly. But changes and extensions to the sched- ule to meet with cus- tomer needs brought a dramatic expansion in circulation and atten- dance. With the library open 20 hours a week, the longest since 1934, cir- culation jumped by almost 23 per cent to a projected total of 18,000 for 2004. The latest to run the library have been Meighan Wark from 2000 to 2002, who was replaced by Dawber in August 2002. The original 300 books distributed by Faust have grown to over 9,000 items, with access to thousands more. With the discussions for a new location hav- ing gone on for several years, Dawber is hope- ful a new facility is on the horizon in the near future. A board will be avail- able at the open house for patrons to sign to display their hopes for what the library will be in the next few years. With the completion of the Zurich Library his- tory book, Dawber says he has no immediate plans for any new books. "I just want to get this launched." r ]'lic Lamps of Freedom: 1I4ricr 11i,tunul Itinch I.ihr.er+, 1`I�R'1-iCIIfJ Zurich Librarian Michael Dawber has authored 'The Lamps of Freedom:A Brief History of the Zurich Library.The title is taken from the logo of the Huron County Library Association and the book will available at the 85 anniversary of the library Dec. 16. (photos above/PatBolen; below submitted) r r 44> 4‘,1 ^^..✓iw.ww.wMW4, :h:!RSl9E Y 14414.44K "-*" ^4. X"' MMR-L'4S"-1"Nf$4,4t ,..- 0c.,,, e r y 1 '4,,...;" b ,,..,N,. AN. 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