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The 1970's: A Decade of Growth
The 1970's: A Decade of Growth
Expanding Children's Services
Expanding Children's Services
The Middletown Free Library, by the year 1974, had occupied its building for 73 years. Despite that, circulation was increasing rapidly, with October of 1974 having a circulation over 20% greater than the same period the year prior. This increase was due in large part to the expansion of library service hours to cover Sundays for the first time in the history of the library; the MFL was the third library in the state to open its doors on Sundays. The library also began to heavily prioritize the registration of children in the community. The library found much success in their youth programs, especially those oriented to children 10 and younger. The quantifiable growth that these programs provided showed not only the library's importance to the community, but also the library's desperate need for more space to conduct its work. The Middletown Free Library had reached a point of critical mass that inspired the town to begin looking for a new edifice in which to house the some 25,000 volumes held, as well as additional room for patrons and librarians to use.
Continued Improvement
Continued Improvement
While the search was on for a new home for the library and its collections, the Middletown Free Library continued on its mission as normal. Patrons were invited to participate in pet shows, children's reading hours were expanded, and Sunday hours returned for the second year. All the while, the MFL was attempting to further hone its services, by issuing a survey to patrons to better understand their needs.
"Freedom is theme of contest" - Providence Journal, 1975.
A student library worker leads a costumed Halloween event - Newport Daily News, 1977.
"Inspiring the arts" - Newport Daily News, 1978.
A New Home for the Middletown Public Library
A New Home for the Middletown Public Library
Though the library was seeing record circulation numbers year over year, their collection was stagnant in size due to the physical limitations of the building, which at that point had been the library's home for 73 years. The walls of the old building could no longer contain the burgeoning institution and the town began to look for a new solution. After circling the purchase and re-purposing of a plot of federal land for about 5 years, in 1979, the Middletown Free Library molted from its old shell by the Oliphant School and took over the former Navy Daycare Center which building had been constructed approximately 30 years prior - and abandoned in 1973. At the same time, the Middletown Free Library became the Middletown Public Library - both the building and the name are borne by the library to this day. In the new building, the library finally had the space to hold its collection without constant cycling out of titles as the capacity for books increased by 11,000. Additionally, the seating capacity increased nearly tenfold - from 6 to ~50 patrons. The extra space afforded the library and the librarians the ability to put on programs that would have been previously impossible. However, with this expansive new home came new trials for the library to overcome in order to continue providing its immense value to the community.
The 1980's: Turbulence and Perseverance
The 1980's: Turbulence and Perseverance
An Unsteady Beginning
An Unsteady Beginning
Though the newer and larger building afforded the library many luxuries that it did not previously have, its increased size also significantly increased costs, which caused budgetary shortfalls in the early 1980's. Particularly of concern was the new heating bill, which was far higher not only due to the increased size, but the skyrocketing price of oil, which - as of Sept. 1981 - had more than doubled since the same point two years prior, when the library moved buildings (U.S.E.I.A., 2024). The higher overhead caused the library to cut the popular Sunday hours, as the town couldn't guarantee the necessary allotment of cash.
Service Despite Struggle
Service Despite Struggle
Even though concessions were necessary to keep the doors open, the MPL was not content to rest on its laurels until greener pastures arrived; the library continued to update and expand offerings to patrons. Accessible materials such as large print books and newfangled books on cassette were acquired by the library to ensure disabled and elderly patrons the ability to leverage the library's bounty. The library also continued to expand its highly successful youth programming, including community driven events such as a Dungeons & Dragons tournament for teenagers. This dedication in the face of fiscal adversity underlines the MPL's longstanding commitment to serving the people of not just Middletown, but Aquidneck Island as a whole.
"Stories Galore' highlights Library Week this Sunday" - Providence Journal, 1982.
"Tell me a story..." - Newport Daily News, 1982.
"Dungeons, Dragons Tournament slated" - Providence Journal, 1982.
"In fantasy land" - Newport Daily News, 1982.
Cooperation and Celebration
Cooperation and Celebration
After the budget cuts of 1981 & 1982, some daylight befell the beleaguered library starting in the mid 80's, with a cash injection from the town council allowing the MPL to restore nine of the cut hours, especially critical for young children who generally could not attend the normal daytime hours due to schooling. Alongside this expansion, the library joined two cooperatives that allowed for patrons to borrow film reels and Polaroid cameras. The library also collaborated with Middletown High School to showcase student artwork. Meanwhile, the library was gearing up to celebrate five years of occupying the current building, as well as five years under the name "Middletown Public Library". To the left, you can see some of the photos taken and displayed to commemorate the occasion. Below that, the high school arts display and the "Check this out" program can be found.
5th Anniversary bulletin - Newport Daily News, 1984.
Community Education
Community Education
In the later years of the 1980's, the MPL introduced a number of education oriented programs, with services available for all ages. Among these programs, a kit designed to ease medical anxiety in children was made available for check-out at the library. This kit was a collaboration between a librarian at the MPL and the director of information services at Newport Hospital. Another program was put on for community members interested in history, teaching them how to conduct interviews with people who experienced events first hand.
An Emphasis on Preservation
An Emphasis on Preservation
In addition to collecting and preserving newspaper scraps for the last 15 years, in 1987, the library compiled a bulleted chronology of the library, listing seminal moments in the history of the organization. This collection was done to highlight the library's recent enrollment in the Cooperating Libraries Automated Network, Rhode Island's public library consortium which has expanded since and is now known as Ocean State Libraries (OSL, n.d.). This consortium was initially formed to enable shared cataloging between local libraries, increasing availability of titles to patrons and freeing librarians to focus more on direct service to the community.
References
References
Ocean State Libraries, (n.d.), "About Ocean State Libraries" Retrieved from https://catalog.oslri.net/about-osl
United States Energy Information Administration, (2024), "U.S. Crude Oil First Purchase Price" Retrieved From https://www.eia.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=pet&s=f000000__3&f=m
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