Section E Page 3 Missoulian Centennial Centennial Year Finds Library Space Crowded
Centennial Year Finds Library Space Crowded
By Astrid Arnoldson
“The depression years brought unprecedented demands on the resources of the library and the services of the staff,” stated the report of Librarian Nina M. Ford on the 50th anniversary of the Missoula Public Library in 1944.
Circulation rose steadily, and reached for the year 1958-59 an all-time high combined city-county total of 237,288 volumes, while the professional staff was increased to seven with varying numbers of extra assistants. Local conditions during World War II, however, followed the national trend of decrease in library use, and by 1944 the staff was back down to five professionals and four student assistants.
Use Grows Again
Postwar recoveries again increased demands, but a more rapid rise in costs than in appropriations for library support has prevented full expansion to meet those demands. The most recent complete circulation figure, for 1958-59 is 196,747 volumes, and the present staff comprises nine regular members and from three to five part-time assistants.
The book stock for 1958-59 was 80,256 volumes, compared to 58,000 in 1944. Expenditures for the city-county system in 1958-59 were $51,722.09, while the budget for the current year is $60,629 of which $41,949 [is] for the city library and $18,280 for the county division.
Board Discontinued
The board of directors was discontinued on the city’s adoption of the commission form of government in 1955.
Miss Ford left the library in 1947, after 13 years as head librarian. Evelyn Swant was selected from the staff for the post, and is still city-county librarian. In 1957 she also became coordinator of the Five Valley Federation of Libraries, organized as a two-year federal aid demonstration under the Library Services Act.
Seven Participate
The seven county federation, with seven libraries participating provided repairs, equipment and modernizing of collections to member libraries where needed, and library service by bookmobile to rural areas. Missoula County budgeted its full share for a continuation after the close of the federal aid period last summer, but only one other county made an appropriation for it, and all federal activities requiring funds are currently in suspension.
No additions have been made to the library building since 1913, and it is again overcrowded despite repeated rearrangements for optimal use of space.
Not Enough Room
Staff members have unanimously stated that their number is too small to perform all the services a city and county like Missoula should have, but that there is not elbow room for a larger staff in the present state of the building. Their dream for the start of Missoula’s second 100 years is a new south wing on what is now a garden plot, and for the future, continued expansion of facilities and services to keep pace with the Garden City’s growth and cultural maturity.
2016 News
Missoula voters will find the issue of a new library on their ballot come this November (2016). Missoula County Commissioners recently approved a ballot vote for a $30,000,000 library general obligation bond that would go toward building a new library. Plans are that the new one would move 1 block east of the current location. The new design is for a 121,000 square foot, 4 story structure. Missoula’s library has been called the busiest library in the state.
A link to a Missoulian article about the library proposal appears below:
Good Luck!