The Brooklyn Library had its beginning when a group of townspeople headed by Rev. Kenneth Craig and Mrs. Alice Farring, began a drive for a library. This same group had bought shares to have a volunteer fire company built while Brooklyn was a part of Anne Arundel County. When the area was annexed to Baltimore City in 1919, the city redeemed these shares and with the money, the group purchased a site at Patapsco Avenue and Third Street. Funds from the Carnegie Foundation were used to erect the building. The Brooklyn Library opened in October 1921 with Mrs. Vera Hyson and Mrs. Clarice Bennett as librarians.
As the community grew, there was a need for a larger library with additional facilities. The old building was razed and a larger, more modern structure erected on the site. While the building was going on, the library was housed in the Firemen's Hall at Fifth Street and Pontiac Avenue.
|
|
The new library built at a cost of $232,000 opened on August 30,1965 with special dedicatory ceremonies, attended by city and library officials and townspeople. The new building is a very imposing structure, at street level and easily accessible. There is a children's room, a young adult's area and adult's area, work room and auditorium.Many activities can now be held there, including lectures, movies, story hour, etc. Miss Martha Thurlow was the head librarian when this beautiful new structure opened.
This page last updated October 13, 2009.
| Written and Edited by | Transcribed by |
