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131 North Walnut Street
Batesville, IN 47006
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The first lending library in Batesville,
Indiana grew from
the efforts of Sophia Nickel, Anna Wachsmann and Minnie Wycoff who were
librarians at the Batesville High School. The public was able to utilize
the school library for one hour each week during the period from 1910 to 1927.
In 1927 services improved as the Indiana State
Library gave local patrons access to a circulating collection owned by the
state. As books and borrowers increased, the Parent-Teacher Association
became involved and moved the library to the American Legion Hall.
The grade school became the library location in
1933 after the generous gift of 200 volumes by Michael F. Bohland. Five
years later this arrangement was becoming crowded and space was found at the
Memorial Building.
On February 7, 1938, the library was officially
organized under the state Public Library Law. Members of the first board
of trustees were: Mrs. Michael F. Bohland, Mr. E. P. Cassidy, Miss Nora Wonning,
Mrs. Will J. Gelvin, Mrs. Harry Blank, Mr. E. E. Taylor and Mr. Orlando J.
Schorr. Mrs. Clarence Greeman was the first librarian with a book budget
of $25 per year and hours of operation limited to one hour each week.
Hours were increased in 1940 to 3 1/2 hours per week and an exchange of
books from the Indiana State Library every 3 months.
 Mrs. Greeman resigned in January 1943 and was
succeeded by Mrs. Vera Gibson until December 1944. Mrs. Hazel Andres
(click on the photo at right to enlarge) was appointed librarian in January 1945 and held the
post for the next thirty years. She classified and catalogued the
collection and installed a charging system to meet the requirements of the state
library. Hours were again increased, as well as the budget, which resulted
in the library having 2,293 books, 246 borrowers and a circulation of 1,053 at
the end of 1945.
By 1951 the entire second floor of the Memorial
Building had been taken over to accommodate the 1,000 borrowers and 7,300
volumes. (See
photos)
The community experienced great excitement in
1966 when the John A. Hillenbrand Foundation announced its intention to fund a
new library as a memorial to John and Clara Hillenbrand. The new
Batesville Memorial Public Library opened its doors in July 1974. (See
photos)
Mrs. Andres retired in 1975 after having managed
two transitions and was replaced by Peggy Markwalter, who after one year of
service was replaced by Carol Cowles. Miss Cowles resigned after three
years of directing the library and was succeeded by Miss Julie Hersberger in
1979.
The library experienced another expansion which
doubled the floor space and made the Batesville Memorial Public Library a show
place for the city. The expansion was funded by George C. and Margaret M.
Hillenbrand and dedicated on October 2, 1988.
The above information is from Ripley County
History : 1818-1988 : Ripley County, Indiana.
Miss Hersberger resigned in 1991 and was replaced
by Charlotte Davis. Under Ms. Davis' directorship, the library was
automated and plans were begun to expand the library service district. Michael Kruse, who
earned his M.L.S. degree from the School of Information and Library Studies at
the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1993, was hired in June of that
year. Expansion of the library district occurred when the Ripley County
Commissioners agreed to add those parts of Laughery and Adams Townships (Ripley
County) that are in the Batesville Community School Corporation district to the
library's district. Later, the Trustee of Adams Township (Franklin County)
decided to add Ray Township (also in the BCSC district) to the library's
district. When Ms. Davis left the library in March, 1995, Kruse was named
interim director. In May, 1995, he was appointed director by the Board of
Trustees. He
continues to serve as the library's director to the present day.
In April, 1999, the library dedicated a room within the library as the
Mary Stewart Center for Entrepreneurship, a center of information and resources for the entrepreneur and small business community.
In September, 2002, near the Walnut Street entrance, the library
installed a sculpture, "Paper Airplanes: Journeys of the Imagination" by
Gary Lee Price of Springville, Utah. The sculpture symbolizes the
library's commitment to be the place "where information inspires imagination."
In March, 2003, the library purchased the former Cinergy office building on Boehringer Street, with adjacent parking extending to Schrader Street. The
library allowed
the
Batesville Area Historical
Society to use the building, now called the Library Annex, rent-free
for display, storage and office space until late summer, 2007. At that
time, demand for meeting space required that the library use some of the display
space at the Annex for meetings. The Historical Society decided to remove
all of their items from the Annex, and the library then added wi-fi Internet access,
videoconferencing equipment, tables, chairs and other improvements for additional community meeting space.
 The Batesville Memorial Public Library received the
2003-2004 Organization of the Year award from the
Rural Alliance for the
Arts. The library was recognized for its contributions to the arts in our
community, especially for the addition of the sculpture on Walnut Street, the
After Hours Concert Series, our circulating art print collection, and our
cooperation with the RAA in allowing them to use our meeting room and display
facilities. We at the BMPL are grateful for the recognition and appreciate
being able to add to the cultural climate of the Batesville community.
A tax-supported institution, the library
serves as a center for information and community activities, with a growing
collection of circulating materials, reference materials and
services, and programs and meeting rooms used by a variety of individuals and
organizations. Besides the Mary Stewart Center for Entrepreneurship, the
Batesville Memorial Public Library is unique in its special collections:
The Hillenbrand Family Library,
The 352nd Fighter Group Memorial Aviation
Collection,
The Miriam E. Mason Collection,
and our Oral History Collection, plus features such as its
Summer Reading Program
for all ages, and the almost-monthly
After Hours Concert
Series presented free to the public.
The Batesville Memorial Public Library is a member of the
Midwest
Collaborative for Library Services (formerly Indiana Cooperative
Library Services Authority - INCOLSA), the area network providing leadership in cooperative activities for Indiana
and Michigan libraries.
In addition, the library
is a member of the
Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce and the
Ripley
County Chamber of Commerce. In 2005, in recognition
of meeting the criteria for presentation of professional development
programming, the BMPL was certified as a Presentation Site by the
Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration.
Individual library staff persons are members of the
American Library Association,
Public
Library Association, and, along with the library Trustees, the
Indiana Library
Federation. |
