This month is a very special time here at the library! Did you know that our articles of incorporation were recorded on October 28th, 1922? Which means this month officially marks 100 years of Scott County Public Library! That’s 100 years of improving literacy in Scott County, 100 years of issuing library cards, and 100 years of providing service to our community! We knew we couldn’t let such an important occasion pass by without celebrating, and trust us, this is one event you won’t want to miss!
In addition to regular library services, we will have a full day of special programs and activities! For children we will have activity stations, face painting and a penguin! You read that right, The Newport Aquarium will be here with a special feathery guest for their program, Penguin Live! Please note that this program is registration only. You may sign up on our website or join the wait list. But if you don’t get a spot, don’t worry, we will still have plenty of activities for your little ones to enjoy! Including one of our favorite recurring programs, Books & Best Friends where you can read to therapy dogs from Pawsibilities Unleashed.
For adults, make sure to grab a seat for our featured band, Small Time Napoleon. Their unique sound blends the swing era with pop, folk and modern jazz. The perfect metaphor for a Centennial Celebration, these musicians have their “ears on the past and their eyes on the future” and are guaranteed to set your feet tapping. Then at 2:00 pm we will have remarks by special guests, and we will dedicate a time capsule, containing items from the past 100 years here at the library. Speaking of history, make sure you visit the Gallery. We will have a special exhibit dedicated to the history of SCPL.
For all ages, we will also have our Big Bargain Book Sale hosted by the Friends of the Library. You can find books for children, teens and adults! Plus DVDs, CDs and more.
With so much to see, hear, and do, we encourage you and your family to come out and celebrate with us! We couldn’t have made it 100 years without you!
Want to know a little more about our history? Keep reading.
The Scott County Public Library was a project of the Civic League (later known as the Georgetown Woman’s Club), an organization founded by Mrs. Anne Payne Coffman. Some sources indicate our beginnings go back as far as 1910. In 1913, the Civic League was offering a small, 50-book portable library available at Herman Sherrick’s shoe store on Main St. By 1914, the library moved to two rooms in the city building.
This year we are celebrating becoming incorporated as a perpetual charitable institution. Our articles of incorporation were recorded on October 28th, 1922 at the local level and then registered in Frankfort on November 6th, 1922. Previously, that same year, we received a generous donation from Mr. G.H. Nunnelley and Mrs. Margaret P. Nunnelley. The pair donated the 230 East Main Street lot that later became the site of our library in 1929.
In 1929, the first librarian, Mrs. H.G. Henderson, was hired. Throughout the years, we have developed facilities, technology, and the expertise to best address our community’s needs. In 1966, the library established bookmobile services thanks to efforts of library director Patsy Hall, with our first bookmobile librarian being Mattie Griffith. Hall was also instrumental in establishing the library as special taxing district in 1969.
Earlene Arnett, director from 1977 until 2013, followed in Hall’s footsteps. In 1994, Arnett, along with Nancy Brown, R.C. Johnson, Kathy Placier and several other library supporters, successfully petitioned for a six-cent library tax base. Arnett also identified the need for the library to move to its current location, which opened in 2000. In 2016, an expansion project added more space for youth services, a Recording Studio, additional meeting rooms, and an art gallery. In response to overwhelming requests, our 2021-2022 renovation added even more study rooms and meeting room spaces for our patrons to continue to “learn, know, gather, grow.”