Description: Engraved portrait of Ohio pioneer Ephraim Cutler (1767-1853). He was the son of Manasseh Cutler and born in Massachusetts in 1767. Cutler left Massachusetts for Ohio in 1795 and helped to establish Ames Township (modern-day Amesville) in 1797. He was elected to the territorial legislature in 1801 and served as a delegate to the Ohio Constitutional Convention. As a member of the state legislature he worked for state funding for canals and property taxes to fund public schools. Cutler was also a charter member and first librarian of the Coonskin Library in 1804. He died in 1853. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL03955
Subjects: Education--Ohio; Libraries; Ohio History--State and Local Government
 

Description: Located at 140 South Paint Street, the Chillicothe & Ross County Public Library houses a large collection of local history and genealogical sources including the Chillicothe Gazette on microfilm from 1800 onwards and Chillicothe city directories dating back to 1858. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B02F10_011_1
Subjects: Chillicothe (Ross County, Ohio)--History; Libraries--Ohio
Places: Chillicothe (Ohio); Ross County (Ohio)
 

Description: Reverse reads: "School Library Project Hoytville, Ohio (Wood Co.) Left to Right Margaret Marrick Evelyn Donaldson Carolyn Evinger Marcille Milligan Lois Singleton Miss Sarah Jaynes - W.P.A. Librarian - at desk" This is a photo of a group of girls reading at a table. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F07_013_001
Subjects: Reading; Libraries; Hoytville (Ohio)--History; Librarians--Ohio; Books; Children; Children's libraries; Education; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Hoytville (Ohio); Wood County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows the stacks in the Ohio State University Library, Columbus, in 1941. Three men are visible in the image. One of them is standing on a lower level; the two other men are standing on the semi-transparent floor above him. When OSU (then the Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College) was established in 1873, its library was housed in University Hall. In 1893 it was moved to Orton Hall. Ground was broken for a new Ohio State University Library facility in December 1910. The library opened to the University community in January 1913. Since 1951 the central library's official name has been William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library, in honor of the University's fifth president. It has been renovated or expanded three times: in 1951, 1977, and 2007-2009. It is the central research library in the University's system, which includes 55 individual libraries and collections. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06195
Subjects: Libraries--Ohio--History; Academic libraries--Ohio; Columbus (Ohio); Ohio State University. Libraries
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: Photograph taken for the Columbus Free Press with the handwritten caption "I-670 Replacement Library." The building reads "Public Library of Columbus & Franklin County Shepard Branch," and a hand-painted sign in front states "Getting ready for the 3rd Annual Jambo Festival." The Shepard Branch Library, part of the Columbus Metropolitan Library system, is now located at 850 N. Nelson Road in a new building that opened in October 2016. Construction of an entrance ramp for Columbus's I-670 interstate displaced the original location of the library branch on 5th Avenue in 1986, and it was reconstructed in a replacement location at 790 N. Nelson Road. The Columbus Free Press began as a bi-weekly publication in Columbus, Ohio, in 1970. An underground newspaper, it replaced the Ohio State University publication The People, Yes. The earliest known issue of the newspaper appeared on January 4, 1971. The newspaper underwent a series of name changes over the decades, with titles including the Columbus Free Press & Cowtown Times (1972-1976), the Columbus Freepress (1976-1992) and The Free Press (1992-1995). The paper, which covered many liberal and progressive causes, was an alternative to mainstream news sources in central Ohio with the slogan “The Other Side of the News.” In 1995, the paper ceased publication briefly before reemerging as a website in early 1996, and returning as a print publication under the Free Press title in the form of a quarterly journal in 1998. Published under various frequencies during the first part of the 21st century, the Free Press again became a nonprofit monthly publication in 2017 with both a print and web presence, published by the Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism and operated by a volunteer staff and board. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: MSS1301AV_B02F09_04
Subjects: Libraries--Ohio; Columbus (Ohio)--History--20th century; Festivals; Public buildings--Ohio--Columbus;
Places: Columbus (Ohio); Franklin County (Ohio)
 

Description: This appears to be a photo of four children looking at books in a grade school library. On the right, there is a librarian checking out books. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B12F06_031_001
Subjects: Libraries; Dewey decimal classification; Grade schools; Librarians--Ohio; Books; Children; Children's libraries; Education; Ohio--History--Pictorial works; Federal Writers' Project
Places: Ohio
 

Description: This photograph is a view of Toledo Public Library building located at Madison Avenue and Ontario Street. Noted Toledo architect Edward O. Fallis (1851-1927) designed the library in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Rough-hewn stones are arranged in horizontal bands of varying widths. The building has the rounded turrets and curved corners associated with this style. A tree stands in front of the building, whose exterior walls are overgrown with foliage. A handwritten caption in the bottom border reads: "Toledo Public Library." Toledo's public library system has its roots in subscription libraries that charged an annual fee to its members. The Young Men's Association organized the city's first such library in 1838. The nationwide public library movement began during the 1870s, and in 1873 the Toledo city council authorized the purchase of two subscription library collections. This step marked the beginning of the Toledo Public Library. In 1890 the city built the library seen in this photograph. It remained Toledo’s only public library until 1917, when Carnegie Foundation financed the construction of branch libraries. By the 1930s, space in the main library was at a premium, and shortly after the current main library (on Michigan Street) was completed in 1940, the original building was razed. The site is now a parking lot. Fallis was a noted Toledo architect who designed several buildings that are on the National Register of Historic Places. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06167
Subjects: Architecture--Ohio; Toledo (Ohio); Libraries--Ohio--History; Richardsonian Romanesque
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows the Main Library building in Toledo, Ohio, located at 325 Michigan Street. Designed by the architectural firm Hahn & Hayes, the Art Deco structure opened in 1940, and its $2 million cost was financed largely by the Works Progress Administration. This building replaced the city's original main library, located at Madison Avenue and Ontario Street, which opened in 1890. That structure was razed in 1940, shortly after the new main library opened. Toledo's public library system has its roots in subscription libraries that charged an annual fee to its members. The Young Men's Association organized the city's first such library in 1838. The nationwide public library movement began during the 1870s, and in 1873 the Toledo city council authorized the purchase of two subscription library collections. This step marked the beginning of the Toledo Public Library. The original main library was Toledo’s only public library until 1917, when Carnegie Foundation financed the construction of branch libraries. By the 1930s, space in the main library was at a premium; within the space of a decade, a new facility became a reality. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06168
Subjects: Architecture--Ohio; Toledo (Ohio); Libraries--Ohio--History; Art Deco
Places: Toledo (Ohio); Lucas County (Ohio)
 

Description: Caption reads: "Miami University, Library Entrance, Oxford, Ohio, Butler County. 1936." The Alumni Library opened in April of 1910 and was funded by the Alumni Centennial Fund and the Andrew Carnegie Foundation for the total amount of the $80,000 it cost to build. When the library opened, it featured a 70 ft. high rotunda, in addition to reading rooms and stacks. In 1924, an east wing was added to the building, which offered a main reference and reading room. A west wing was added to the building in 1952 in addition to the stacks that were added onto the building in 1930, 1949, and 1958. The Alumni Library was the main library of the university until the King Library was constructed in 1972. Miami University is one of the oldest and best-known universities in the State of Ohio. Miami University was founded in 1809. Although chartered in 1809, Miami University did not open its doors to students until 1823. It became known as the "Yale of the West." View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B09F02_002_001
Subjects: Miami University (Oxford, Ohio)--History; Architecture--Ohio; Academic libraries--Ohio; College buildings
Places: Oxford (Ohio); Butler County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows two men sitting at a table repairing books at the Cincinnati Public Library, Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 8, 1936. Both men are in shirtsleeves; the man on the right has dipped an instrument (probably a brush) into a tin of commercial paste. The books on the table are in various states of disrepair. Bookcases made of wood and glass are visible in the background. The Federal Writers Project of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) instituted a work relief program in library instruction and services. The library program was administered by its Division of Women's and Professional Projects. The program's goal was to demonstrate librarians’ techniques to underserved populations with new libraries, new bookmobiles, and newly bound books. Although WPA library demonstration projects nationwide served African Americans and the rural poor, WPA work crews in libraries remained segregated. The project also generated controversy. The "Bulletin of the American Library Association" reported that the bindery industry accused the WPA of “workstealing.” The bookbinding work shown here was titled “Project #16-31-699: W.P.A. Bookbinding project in Cincinnati Public Library, Cincinnati, Ohio." The library began as a subscription library in 1802. On March 14, 1853, it became the Cincinnati Public Library. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06192
Subjects: Libraries--Ohio--History; Bookbinding; Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County; Cincinnati (Ohio); United States. Works Progress Administration; Federal Writers' Project;
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows three parked "book wagons" belonging to the Cincinnati Public Library, Cincinnati, Ohio, ca. 1935-1943. Text on the vehicles' rear and back panels reads: "Public Library of Cincinnati / County Service." The side panel also includes an image of the main library building. Becoming a countywide system in 1898, the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County was a pioneer in the 20th century with its special services for the blind and for children, bookmobile services, and circulation of audiovisual materials. The library's "book wagon" service began in 1927 View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06193
Subjects: Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County; Libraries--Ohio--History; Cincinnati (Ohio); Bookmobiles
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)
 

Description: This photograph shows the reading room and four-story atrium of the Cincinnati Public Library, Cincinnati, Ohio, ca. 1935-1943. This photograph was taken from top level at the back corner of the atrium, facing towards the front of the building. This building which is now referred to as the “Old Main” Public Library, was located at 629 Vine Street (west side), between 6th and 7th Streets. Completed in 1874 and designed by architect James W. McLaughlin, the building was considered one of the most magnificent public libraries in the country. This area pictured here had five levels of cast-iron alcoves. Visible is the catalog desk (center, right) and a bust of James Murdoch (1811-1893), Cincinnati actor and public speaker (bust located under the "Fiction" sign, lower left corner). It is one of the few statues that survived the move to the “New Main” and can be found in the Literature & Languages section. The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County is now one of the largest and busiest public libraries in the world and operates 41 branch locations. The library began as a subscription library in 1802. On March 14, 1853, it became the Cincinnati Public Library. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06194
Subjects: Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County; McLaughlin, James W., 1834-1923; Libraries--Ohio--History; Cincinnati (Ohio); Murdoch, James Edward, 1811-1893
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)