Kennewick’s Free Library Runs Out of City Money
With city revenues short, the Kennewick Public Library must raise a year’s rent by March 1 or risk losing the free reading room that served hundreds of children.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The question of whether or not the Kennewick Public Library is to receive any financial aid from the city this year was definitely disposed of Tuesday evening when the finance committee of the city council reported that owing to the diminished revenues of the city a library appropriation is an impossibility. With the aid of the city the association last year made the library free to everybody and a strenuous effort will be put forth to continue the institution on this basis.
In speaking of the library situation, Rev. W. P. Osgood, president of the association, said:
“The city council being very short of funds, could not appropriate any money for the library this year.
“The library is certainly an institution that should have wide public support. The library association has collected over 1,100 books. Their use is absolutely free to school children and charges of but one dollar a year for cards for adults. Last year 250 children and 80 adults took books from the library to the number of 4,500. This was a large increase over the preceding years. An offer of a large reduction in the rent of the library building has been received provided the rent for the entire year be raised by March 1st. It is hoped that every friend of the library will make some generous gift for its support and kindly send it to Mrs. E. Shanafelt early this month.
“The free reading room is open each Wednesday and Saturday from 2:30 to 5:30 and from 7 to 9.”
“Their use is absolutely free to school children and charges of but one dollar a year for cards for adults.”
Public libraries still depend on a mix of municipal dollars, donations and volunteer labor, and budget cuts force the same choices between hours, acquisitions and rent. The 1915 appeal shows how quickly a free institution can become a community fundraising project.
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