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| BEGINNING
For more than 100 years the citizens of Ludington have recognized that a public library is a necessity for a growing community. As early as 1872, Ludington had a public library. Initially the library was located in a small building on the grounds of the Pere Marquette Lumber Co., and later housed in the Temperance Building at the corner of Ludington Ave. and James St., which was destroyed in the fire of 1881. For a number of years Longfellow School shared their books with the public. But it wasn’t until the members of the Pere Marquette Literary Club in 1905 – with the help of local attorney M. B. Danaher, secured both a grant from Andrew Carnegie and a promise of support from the City of Ludington that the goal of a permanent public library became a reality. On March 1, 1906 the new Carnegie library with almost 4,000 books was opened to the citizens of Ludington and Mason County. The library was an immediate success with 720 people registering and borrowing more than 600 books during the first two weeks. |
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GROWTH
Over the next 70 years – generations of Ludington and Mason County residents checked out books, attended story times, read in the library’s reading rooms, attended meetings, held gatherings and expanded their knowledge at the library. Over the years the collections and services grew so that by the late 1960s, the library had over 25,000 books and loaned almost 30,000 items a year. The original 3500 sq. ft. Carnegie Library was inadequate to serve the needs of the community. EXPANSION—1976 In the mid-1970’s the Library Board of Trustees, with the same dedication to the library and commitment to public service that was shown by the original founders, and honoring the original Carnegie building, secured funding for an expansion. With funds from both the City and the County and with a successful 1 mill tax levy, the $300,000 project was completed in July 1976. The expansion added over 8000 square feet of space to the library. A new children’s area, a large reading room and space for over 40,000 books were the primary features of the new addition. The expansion led to a new growth in circulation and services. In 1977 the library loaned 50,000 items. NEW CENTURY With the new century, the library’s collections, services and activities have again out-grown the space – especially the collections and services for children. The areas for story times, programs and activities are incapable of handling the number of children attending. In 2007 the Ludington Library hosted over 450 children’s programs with more children attending than ever before. The areas for adult programs, activities and collections – as well as quiet areas in the library, are also limited. The Ludington Library now has over 60,000 items in its collection, 20,000 more than the planned capacity in 1976. Use has also grown with circulation almost quadrupling since the last expansion to 192,000 items loaned in 2007. In addition the library now offers new collections and services that were unheard of 30 years ago, such as DVD’s, public access computers and wireless internet access. In 2007 the Ludington Library provided over 30,000 public access computer sessions and 5000 wireless sessions.
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For more than 100 years the citizens of Ludington have recognized that a public library is a necessity for a growing community.
With the new century, the library’s collections, services and activities have again out-grown the space – especially the collections and services for children. The areas for story times, programs and activities are incapable of handling the number of children attending.
A CENTURY OF SERVICE