xt7xwd3pwc2b_12 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7xwd3pwc2b/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7xwd3pwc2b/data/46m29.dao.xml unknown 0.3 Cubic Feet 1 box, 1 item archival material 46m29 English University of Kentucky The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center. Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Works Progress Administration Fayette County Library Project records African Americans -- Kentucky Bookmobiles. Libraries and community -- Kentucky -- Fayette County. Libraries -- Kentucky -- Fayette County Libraries -- Kentucky. Library extension. Public libraries -- Kentucky What did the Library Do for the Community text What did the Library Do for the Community 2020 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7xwd3pwc2b/data/46m29/Box_1/Folder_12/Multipage97.pdf circa 1939 1939 circa 1939 section false xt7xwd3pwc2b_12 xt7xwd3pwc2b WHAT TIES EIBEMX DID FOR TEES COIL UFZ'IIE'Y

1. Through a more mode n idea of disteibution. it brought readieg
of an infermetive and nlemeurable kind to thagsends of gewsons 1n the
county who had peevioeuly not Heed a public library .

organized .
3. The layette Library orgnaized the first book cente? eeQCCially for
negroee.The tenemegro workere did an excellent work With shuﬁ—ina and

grouee of children.

5. The Library work mi the Kentucky Houeee of “eferm wee meet interest-
ing and important. Hiny people had felt t$et the children could not and
weulﬁ not take advantage of such service.and we found thet they Were
eager readers and most careful in the use of books. With books better
suited to their needeywith a wide? selection to ehoose frem,and with
better crgeinzqtion at the school and in the librery.the effects of
such a yregrem weald undoubtedly have accomplished great changes in

the swirit of the children of that inetiﬁution.

3. Boys” Reading Sluba,baeed an the theory teat children read better
e31 read more when they have access to beaks on subject in which they
are really interested, were very successful. we found,howeVer,that

our idea tended to duplicate work done by the 4H and Boy Scout argua-
izetione,end so we decided to try to etyplement their work rather than
te continue a seperate arojeet. The fact that the WPA personnel was
ehanged so often and so suddenly made it aard to provide adequate
leaders fer our work.

4. Fer ae leng as we were able we eooyereted With the elementary school
teachere in transporting books which they had selected frnm the children
ream of the ﬁexingten Lineary. And we attempted to keey up with the
work of the classrooms in order that we might eteply same eerichment
material for the eurriculﬁm. Eften,aftcr ﬁhe eeming of the Fayette
Librery,ihe children were allowed to have reading periods in the
school’s beck centersena many of the teachewe felt that the children's
reading skills Were imyroved becauee of the library in the school. $6-
feund the faculties of every SGhQOl most enﬁhueiaetic about the library
and very helﬁful and appreciative of our efforts.

6. Ehe librarian attempﬁed to make available a service to the Romeo
makere' Cluhepboth for their programs euﬁ for their wider reaaing
interests.

6. we made a exhitit for the annual Homemakers-Farm Bureau picnic
égEg?ge.The theme of the exhibit was: "A 300K FOR EVERY FARE’S EVERY

During the library's fullest period of work there were ten
book centers coonaand additional work was done in supolying the
Eastern State Hospital,and the County Infirmiry with magazines.
The former inotitution,under its new regimo,wao esyocially anxious
for the nagaoinas we supplied in order that they could do thorou-
peutio work with their patients.

Since the library project woo the first of its kind in this oounty,
and since the book selection woo hardly adequate or ayyropriato to
the neeio of this particular grouy; the total circulation firgueo
are almost osionishingly good. kite? the first month's work we real-
ized ﬂoat we were facing a book ohortago.$ho WPA iirootor suggested

hat we ask for ionaiions of iiocoréod or duplicated books from
oihor ﬁdblio l%rmrieo.?his we ii 2 d while the gifio inns acquired ;
woro a otofuliy ooooivod,ﬁho oonéii on of the books and the selection
naturally were not at all iooiVublo for o modomn library. Suoh titles
as the earlier books of F.3arion Crawforﬁ,for instance ( some of
ﬁhem gopew~bouna and dilapidated) aye not the baakg to give such
alert and interested persona ao the residents of Fayette County;

In iho oummor the librarian was allowed to uoo some ﬁPA money
with which to buy Some new books. Thio was granted because it is now
roooguizea that books are the tools with whioh a library worka,just
as @icks and shovels are necessary to the maintenance of a oroject
involving rooi construction. The librarian worked long and hard to
select books Whioh would meet the div roe neeas o ﬁho 330318 in the
county: books ouitahle to ohildren at the Reform thool.books which
would enrioh the Komemakero' group otuﬂies, books which would anSwer
the woople'o dooire to know and enjoy their own world.booka which
did not have too boa r a vocabulary 103a for iho average reader in
ﬁho more remote oootions,ond books which would aypeal to the more
exacting ana better educated readers Who have a righi to GXQECt such
titleo in ﬁheir oublio library. The wide 33am of inierost and reading
ability in small Fayette Jounty is really amazinggaad the librarian
who has few if any funis for book buying is hard out io it to choose
wisely. The booko bought with WEA moneys did not GiMCﬁlatﬁgCXCEPt
in one instance when a small group of them was sent (more in the
soirit of a demonstration than anything else} in the annual Gang of
the Homemakor's Clubs.

The librarian felt that she was foroed to spend so much time
with personnel problems and organixation that one was not able to
give tho kind of service she ﬁesired.when the library closed she
knew ﬁhot.in soito of the fine circulation. the library had hardly
scratohod the surface of the possibilities for ooivice to the com»
munity; Greater cooperation with the county agent and his staf£.the
elementary school teaohora,ﬁhe varied club interesto and so on,wou1&
have been in order. The library shoula not try to compote wiﬁh any
existing agenoio8,but Should bend every effort to oooyerote and
coordinate them when ii is desirable.

The lib orian wished to thank miss Carrie ﬁunt,Acting Librarian
of the Lexington Public Library and Colonel ILEZImnn of the Bayotte
County Board of Education, and mr.oo wilder and Hrs Florence Fort '
of ﬁho *ayette Community Council for their constant holy and advise.
The library service to the county was highly important ond successful
and only the help of the four agencies made it so. '

‘ ‘ w 1-» ional
«T librarian was interested 1n tdking 3drt in the rec?eat
gioéggm which the Gommunity Council and WPA undertook duflng the h
oummer. She believed that bookh projects could be mutually helpful

to the communities.

8. Baring the time in Which the school libraries wero not functionlng
the workers spent much time Compiling bibliographies on ﬁhe re-v .
sources of the children’s room of the Lexington Public Library; The
lack of recent subject cards in that catalog made such a @ibliograghy
Very important to the school teachnra. Then the Fayette Ll§rary had“
organized its dictionary catalog of its reoounoea the tea more would
have Egon able to gauge book facilities much more easily and surely.

9. we wished to do more work than we were able to do with the county
churches and with the shutuino and the sick. we did offer to yrovide
books and magazines whenever a county ?inlster gaggested the names
of peruons Wishing them.

10.At the time of the library's closing we were planning and working
toward ﬁhe dioyovsal of large quantitiea of magazines throughout'the
many negro settlements in the county. Thio,wo felt,woudd give the
colored people a great deal of good reading matter in spite of the
fact ﬂoat we were not abla to ouyoly them with books oxoegt in their
one school center. we had also planned to hold weekly otory~telling
hours in the colored communities.

11.?he librarian consulted with the county agent and wlﬁh ﬁhe home.
demonstration agent and had hoped to my books widen their wank

needed. This wag less necessary than other ﬁhingogorobably.booause

the federal government oupylies them with a certain amount of money
for 530% hooko.Ao they are not circulated widely in the county,however,
the library could have made some contribution there.And it could
certainly have supgliod—ao it did ooveral ﬁlmes- books for 43 club
13rogrcm13.

12. The dglnion of authorities on the gabjoot is that a central county
library can buy and circulate books to sdhools mayo efficiently and
more cheaply than anyhoﬁhwk agency.0€ course each high school ought

to havm its own 11hrary and librariangaﬁa eadh olementory oohool whiah
has its own library is fo?tumatea

13.Tﬂo Parent Ieachor groupo were interested in our work and would
have been ino?casingly helﬁful had the project lasted. The librarian
spoke before Several sue; grouyo.

library
14.?he §ayette Library started and maintained tho first/ladle story
hon? for children in the oomnﬁy. The Lexington Story League and the
Kaud Lindsay Story League memberS'were the storybtellera on our
yrograma.During the month of Earch we gave a series of historical
storéea based on the lires of famous Kentucky pioneers.

15.0n July 15.1939 the librarian went to Cincinnati. at the invitation

of radio station a W and gave an eightcminute talk on the work of the
library project.

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