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| As early as 1867, residents of Salina felt a need for pooling reading materials so that more people could have access to a variety of materials. In 1868, a group of fifteen leading citizens drew up a formal petition for charter of the Salina Library Association "for the purpose and object of establishing a public and circulating library." A charter was granted by the Kansas Secretary of State on March 19, 1868. For thirty-five years, Salina had a series of public reading rooms. On April 27, 1899, Mayor T.W. Roach appointed a library board and in that year a mill levy was established for financial support of the new library. On January 2, 1900, the new city library opened its doors in the Odd Fellow Hall. In March of 1901 it was moved to a building on South Santa Fe. Andrew Carnegie's gift of $15,000 funded the construction of a public library which was opened in 1903 at 8th and Iron Street. The Jenny Bartlett estate and the proceeds from a special mill levy funded the library addition in 1928 and with this addition the library served the community until the current building was opened in 1968 at 9th and Elm. The library has a collection of over two hundred thirty thousand books and serves a population of forty-two thousand. Circulation is about three hundred thousand items per year, including records, tapes and art prints, in addition to books. An especially active place is the children's library, which offers a Listening Center, a Puppet Stage and puppets, an aquarium, a Junior High Section and a Discovery Center, in addition to a fine book collection. Extensive programming includes Nursery Rhyme Time for children nine months to two years, Story time and an exciting Summer Reading Program each year. The Campbell Room of Kansas Research is a well known resource in the area with books, flies, microflim and reference service on local and state history and genealogy. With service to the homebound, monthly literature groups, a busy Interlibrary Loan and Reference Department, an active Friends of the Library group, CKLS services, and a dedicated staff, the public library is a popular information and cultural resource in the city of Salina. |
1987 picture of Salina Public Library 
2006 picture of Salina Public Library |