#88 9-12-2013   PARISH LIBRARY DEDICATED IN 1960

   The first library in Jackson Parish was set up by the parish Police Jury in an ordinance adopted on May 10, 1937. The ordinance stipulated that it was to be located in the parish seat of Jonesboro, but in actual practice there were two branches of what was called The Tri-Parish Library, one in Jonesboro and one in Hodge, for a number of years.  $25,000 of a $100,000 Louisiana Library Commission appropriation was earmarked for Jackson Parish in May of 1938.  

   An operational tax was defeated at the polls in 1940, but the desire for a library did not disappear from the minds of many persons in the parish. The Home Demonstration Club, the Jackson Parish Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Jonesboro-Hodge Lions Club, and Representative I. J. Allen all vigorously supported the project. In 1959, the Jackson Parish Police Jury passed an act of establishment for a library demonstration, with $2,500 as its share of the funds. 

   In December 1959, the Police Jury appointed a Library board of control. In 1960, the Holloway building was rented.  A promotional program which involved contacting individuals, speaking to 19 organizations, interviewing applicants, and working out the bookmobile routes preceded the demonstration. The Jackson Parish Library Demonstration became Louisiana’s 50th parish with library service when it was opened with a dedicatory program Saturday, March 5, 1960. Essae M. Culver, state librarian, presided over the program, with other state and parish officials in attendance. 

   The service was scheduled to be parish-wide through a central library in Jonesboro and a large bookmobile, a library-on-wheels holding up to 2,500 books, reaching the entire population. The Jackson Parish project was planned, organized, and directed by the State Library, and for one year would show residents the values and benefits of library service. 

    It was a cooperative project with the Jackson Parish Police Jury, with funds coming from those two agencies and the federal Library Services Act program.  Approximately 9,000 additional books were provided by the State Library for the Jackson demonstration, bringing the total to about 30,000.  

   It began with an open house and dedication program, hosted by the Jackson Parish Council of Home Demonstration Clubs.  The Central Library opened Monday, March 7, 1960 with the service hours from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. 

   Miss Shirley Brother, a native of Alabama, was parish librarian. She had degrees from Birmingham-Southern, the University of Alabama, and Emory University. Miss Mary Aldy, graduate of Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, was assistant librarian. Other staff members were Mrs. Hoye Bell, bookmobile clerk-driver; Mrs. Seaborn F. Bennett, branch assistant; and Mrs. Troy Ford, clerical assistant.   

   Members of the Jackson Parish Library Board were President E. L. Mobley, Jonesboro; Vice-President Mrs. Nell Womack, Chatham; Treasurer Mrs. E. L. Edmonds, Jonesboro; Frank Hinton, Clay; Noel Rasbury, Hodge; and ex-officio, Jonesboro Police Jury President J. Earl Alexander.  Being well received, the unit became a permanent library on December 6, 1960. (Sources: The Jackson Independent, Crystal Gates. Next week: 1961 fire destroyed six Jonesboro businesses.)