Ketchikan Public Library:
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The Ketchikan Public library actually began, not as a public library, but as a subscription library, in 1901. The Ladies' Library Association, as it was known then, charged members .25 per month, and while men could become members, they were not allowed voting privileges. Originally little more than a bookcase that moved from store to store as space allowed, the Library Association finally got a building in which to house its growing collection. This was the same year, 1903, in which men were finally accepted as full-fledged voting members and the name of the group was changed to the Ketchikan Public Library Association. The public was free to come to the library and look at the magazines and papers, but the books were still restricted to members. As the decades went by, the Library Association continued to collect members and books, raise funds through subscriptions and community fundraisers, and become an increasingly important part of Ketchikan life. In 1935 the expanding library found room for its 4,000-volume collection on the second floor of the utility building, which now houses City Hall. In 1943 the library truly became public when the city decided to take on the management and financial support of the library association. Membership fees were eliminated, circulation soared, and the library became an even more important tool for surviving Ketchikan winters. The late 40's were a time of growth for the library. In addition to establishing a children's reading room, one of the first in the state, the Ketchikan Library also began running a Bookboat. Sponsored by the Rotary Club and a grant from the Sears Foundation, this maritime bookmobile delivered items to 10 outlying communities until funding eventually ran out. In 1969 the Ketchikan Public Library moved into its current home, the Centennial Building. Constructed in 1967 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the purchase of Alaska from Russia, the building was too small to accommodate both the library and the historical museum, so the basement was renovated in the late 1970's to provide more space for the museum offices and a separate Children's Library. It was during this period that the library created a permanent Children's Librarian position and established the popular Outreach Library service, which provides library items to patrons who cannot get to the library. The Public Library's most recent changes have been technological and organizational. In 1992 the old card catalog system was replaced with computerized record keeping. A computer database has taken the place of drawers of paper cards, barcodes on the library items assist with inventory and patrons now have access to library information online. In addition, all of the libraries in Ketchikan, including UAS- Ketchikan and those belonging to the borough school district, joined to form the First City Libraries consortium. This allows all library items in Ketchikan to be accessed through one central database and for patrons to enjoy borrowing privileges at all libraries in town. |
Please call us at 225-3331 (adult library) or 225-0370 (children's library) to talk to us. Or email your comments to: library@firstcitylibraries.org |
