History:
1896 The Havana Public Library is established by tax referenda within the City of Havana by petition of concerned citizens from the community spearheaded by members of the U & I Club (Utilities & Interest Club), members of the Beethoven Club, and ladies of the Chautauqua Circle.
1898 The Library opens in the West Room of City Hall on the corner of Orange and Market Streets.
1901 Groundbreaking for new library building at the corner of Plum & Adams Streets.
1902 New Building opens after 1 1/2 years of construction at a cost of $32,000 ($8,000 of the total being given to the library from the Carnegie Foundation).
1937 An addition is added to the library due to the generosity of Horace Parkins, who leaves a bequest to the library in honor of his parents establishing an endowment to be used for building purposes. The addition increases the space in the library by over one third and changes the entrance from Plum Street to Adams Street.
1971 The interior of the library is painted and a remodeling project begins, including additional furniture. Carpet is installed for the first time (including shag carpeting in the reading room and children’s area).
1991 The Havana Public Library becomes the Havana Public Library District. The library district encompasses virtually the same territorial area as the Havana School District.
1996 Carpet tiles are laid down as an almost eight year long interior construction project begins. While knocking out plaster in the ceiling of the large meeting room, the contractors find 19 cracked floor joists underneath the main floor of the library. This leads to the installation of almost 80 new paralam joists, and extending what was to basically be a “mini construction” project mainly refurbishing plaster, paint, and lighting. Many projects are accomplished while the ceilings on the lower level are open including new network and electrical wiring, heating, and a kitchen. 19 Energy efficient historical lighting fixtures are installed on the main level, and our 1930’s brass and white milkglass lights are restored to their former glory on the lower level.
2004 213 West Adams Street is purchased & a new project begins. When completed, the house will be used for storage, additional accessible meeting rooms, & computing space.
2010 The southeast room of the newly refurbished & accessible grade school Village of Bath Community building becomes our Bath Satellite library. Open Mondays from 3 to 7pm, you can check out materials, read the newspaper, access the internet by wireless, and have your reference questions answered.
