The Little Falls Public Library

The Little Falls Public Library: The Importance of the Public Library

    Introduction

    It seems that a lot of towns that a person would drive through in their lifetime consist of a few things. Usually a church or two, a gas station or two, a bar or two, and some kind of library that is open to the public. Some of the most historic landmarks were not built with today’s new technologies (even though they may have been renovated and expanded upon) but instead they are usually very old. These old landmarks tell a story of life throughout the time period that they have been standing there. They tell us about the history of the community, people, the town or city, and even the history of the structure itself. The public library has been a staple to build a town around, and the rephotographs included on this page focuses on my hometown Little Falls Carnegie Public Library, which has been around since the early twentieth century. 

    History of the Little Falls Carnegie Library

    The Little Falls Public Library was built in 1904 and opened its doors for the first time in 1905 as a public library just as it is still used for today. The original structure of the library still stands, even though two wings have been added on to the sides of the library. This library is a Carnegie Library, which means that this library was built with the help of Andrew Carnegie.[1] In the early twentieth century with the lumber industry bringing a plethora of people to central Minnesota, a group of people convinced Andrew Carnegie to donate 10,000 dollars toward building a library, a two thousand dollar plot of land was bought, and the library was built on this plot using the remaining eight thousand dollars.[2] The library exterior materials include slate, field stone, and brick with the interior including four different meeting rooms ranging from a sixty person capacity to a ten person capacity, a children’s floor, and three levels of many different books, films, and music.[3] Additions to the library happened in 1986 when it became part of the Great River Regional Library system and two separate grants of 400,000 and 500,000 dollars were given to the library for the additions.[4] The Little Falls Public Library was one of the 1600 libraries built nationwide during this time using a grant of money from Carnegie himself and is one of the twenty-two still operating libraries that were built during this time today.[5] Walking into this library feels like you are walking into a historical landmark. Many changes have been made to the interior of the building as extra rooms have been added, renovated, and destroyed over the course of the last 112 years that it has been operating as a library. Carnegie’s vision was to build these landmarks and let the people come  and took over from there.[6]

    Significance of the Public Library Throughout Time

    The public library has been a staple in many towns throughout time. A lot of small towns that you drive through throughout your life probably have some sort of public library somewhere, whether that be its own separate building or a school library. Throughout history, most public libraries have been shaped in the vision of their owners, investors, and trustees. This makes sense because they are the people that put in the groundwork for this building to exist.[7] They have also been shaped by the people who use the library in ways that they are often the ones who get to help in the process of all the different types of educational tools that will be included in these places.[8] Vice versa, it is not only the people that have had an impact on the library, it is also that the library that has had an impact on the people. These amazing landmarks have played many roles in these small towns and affected a lot of people in good ways. These libraries teach, inform, provide a place for people to meet, make children’s learning and reading easier for them to achieve, and overall provide a safe place for the people of that community to learn not just basic skills such as reading and writing, but anything that their heart desires.[9]

    Historical Analysis of The Little Falls Carnegie Library

    The fact that this public library has been standing for the last 112 years is a testament to how well the community has up-kept this landmark and that alone shows how important this library must have been throughout its lifetime. Between the picture from 1910 and the picture that was taken a few weeks ago, both look fairly similar except for the additions that have been recently added. So the overall question would be, what does the survival of this library tell about the history of this town? This shows that through all of the different time periods in the history of the United States, this library has survived and thrived throughout it all. Its also very interesting to know that it is only one of twenty-two Carnegie libraries left in the state of Minnesota. The community has taken good care of this now historical landmark, as well as the library has also taken care of its people throughout history.

    Conclusion

    The public library has been a staple in building communities around the nation throughout history. The public library has helped shape many individuals and communities, as well as the people have also helped shape the libraries. From the words of Cheryl Seelen, a long time librarian, “I can’t imagine a world without libraries. They may change, but they’ll always be here.”[10] The people who use, maintain, and build these places of opportunity change lives, as well as it is also the library itself that can change lives, too. 

Written By: Michael Fregin
December 9, 2016

Footnotes:
[1] Emilie Thiessen, “Historic Little Falls library stands as one of only 22 operational Carnegie Libraries in the state,” MC Record, accessed November 3, 2016, https://archives.ecmpublishers.com/2011/11/03/historic-little-falls-library-is-one-of-only-22-operational-carnegie-libraries-in-the-state/.
[2] Nancy Leasman, “Retiring librarian has watched libraries evolve,” Sr Perspective, accessed November 4, 2016, http://www.srperspective.com/2015/05/retiring-librarian-has-watched-libraries-evolve.
[3] Leasman, Retiring librarian has watched libraries evolve.
[4] Leasman, Retiring librarian has watched libraries evolve.
[5] Thiessen, Historic Little Falls library stands as one of only 22 operational Carnegie Libraries in the state.
[6] Thiessen, Historic Little Falls library stands as one of only 22 operational Carnegie Libraries in the state.
[7]  Wayne A. Wiegand, Main Street Public Library: Community Places and Reading Spaces in the Rural Heartland, 1876–1956 (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2011), page 4.
[8]  Wiegand, Main Street Public Library: Community Places and Reading Spaces in the Rural Heartland, 4.
[9]  Wiegand, Main Street Public Library: Community Places and Reading Spaces in the Rural Heartland, 7.
[10] Leasman, Retiring librarian has watched libraries evolve.

Photo credits:
Historical photo: “Carnegie Library, Little Falls,” c. 1910, Minnesota Historical Society, MM7.9 LF8 r16.  Used with permission.  

Rephotograph:  Photo by Michael Fregin