History of the Great Bend Public Library |
| In 1896 a group of women met to read Shakespeare for cultural enrichment. Soon the Progress Club was formed, followed by the Athenian Club. These two groups of ladies, together with the Commercial Club (the forerunner of the Chamber of Commerce), realized the need for community reading room. They met with community leaders and soon the library project was underway. Through the generosity of philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, the Great Bend Library became a reality, and a new red brick building opened its doors August 14, 1908. The two story library occupied the area that is now the east lawn of the present library grounds. |
| In July of 1965 the Great Bend Public Library became the fiscal agent for the newly organized "Central Kansas Library Association." The Central Kansas Library System headquarters are still located in the library. The Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped was relocated to Great Bend in 1973. |
| An era ended on January 9, 1971, as the big doors of the old library closed to the public for the last time. The construction of the new library was virtually complete by the second week in January. In all, more than sixty thousand volumes were moved from the old to the new library. The children of the community moved the books from the basement of the old library to the new Children's Department by passing them from hand to hand. |
| The doors of the new library opened to the public on February 1, 1971. Within six months circulation statistics showed an increase of twenty-three percent. In 1973 the library branched out by placing small deposit collections of books at local retirement centers. This service was followed in July 1974 by the homebound service which still offers book delivery to those unable to visit the library. |
| In recent years the library has added a number of services, including: Dial-A-Story, Video Collection, genealogical research materials, and public access computers with access to the Internet. With the help of several grants the library has a technology lab from which library staff members conduct computer training classes. |