Faced with a problem that could not be ignored, the
Trustees turned the matter over to Martha Schroeder and the Ladies Literary
Club. Six hundred dollars was allocated to be shared by the library and the
cemetery; the cemetery was to receive first priority. As this did not provide
enough money to hire a librarian, the ladies worked voluntarily to run the
Library, and assumed the job of raising money to maintain it.
The women organized the Ladies Library Association, which was sanctioned by
the Board of Trustees, as the official group in charge of the library. To
raise money for library operations, the Association charged dues of 25 cents,
and sponsored lectures and other entertainment. As a result, the Library
operated on a budget of $140 in the first year. The Sunday School room of the
Baptist Church on Farmington Road and Shiawassee was rented for $12 yearly to
serve as the library facility. It housed the original collection of 800
volumes, plus the additional 100 volumes added the first year, at a cost of
$41.38. The women repaired and rebound books themselves. When the first year
was over, $14.80 remained unspent, including the $2.11 in penal fines.
As a librarian was needed for the library, Mary A. Kennedy was appointed to
"temporarily" fill that position; her tenure lasted 25 years, ended by her
death. For much of that time, hers was an unpaid position; eventually she was
granted a small salary by the Township.
From the beginning, the library experienced growing pains. The Sunday School
room was soon inadequate. To alleviate the problem, an addition to the Town
Hall which was to serve as the library, was authorized in 1915. But World War
I brought with it building restrictions, and the addition was not completed
until 1919. In the meantime, conditions in the Sunday School had become
hopeless; the library moved, temporarily, into the basement of the town bank.
Finally the library was moved into the new wing of the Town Hall where
business continued as usual until 1938.
When Mary Kennedy died on April 12, 1938, the library was closed for
reorganization. This reorganization included setting up a budget for the
library, to which each government unit would contribute equally. A Board of
Trustees was established to manage the library; it consisted of three members
from the city and three from the township.
A representative from the Michigan State Library was called in for advice
and assistance. Old books were discarded, furniture was sold, and a new
librarian's desk was purchased for $27.50. The library was organized to meet
specified requirements to qualify for state aid; one such requirement was
that a salaried librarian be employed. The position was filled by Mrs.
Florence Leach, a Farmington resident who had been trained in library work at
Franklin College in Indiana. Her salary was $6 per week. Another requirement
regulated library hours; the library extended its hours to be open on
Wednesdays as well as Saturdays.
From the period of reorganization to the mid-fifties, funding remained a
problem. In 1938, the city and township together contributed $600 for
operating costs; by 1955 the amount was ten times that and still woefully
inadequate.
The book collection grew to 4,500 volumes in the ten years after
reorganization. Fortunately, about fifty percent of books were on loan at any
one time, otherwise there would have been no place to put them. The problem
steadily worsened with the great flight to suburbia which followed World War
II. As the new residents poured in, the need for increased library services
and larger facilities became greater, with no relief in sight.
