History of the Public Library in Parkville
"...to secure, as quickly as possible, a permanent public library
for the greater Parkville area."
Public library service in the Parkville area began as early as 1895 when Mr. Thomas F.
Malonee, the Principal at the old Parkville School #6, opened his school library to the
general public. Miss Sabina Fleming, the school's Vice-principal, was Parkville's first
librarian. By 1917 patrons and children could select books from a pocket-sized printed
book catalog. Friday was "Library Day," and on that day books could be borrowed
or returned. There is no further record as to how long the first public library continued,
but it probably ceased to exist sometime after World War I. The remaining books were given
to Parkville High School.
Just Prior to World War II, the Parkville Area, like many other areas of Baltimore County,
began to experience rapid growth. In 1948, following a study by a county-wide committee,
the Baltimore County commissioners took steps to establish a county library. The library
Trustees recognized that Parkville was one of the communities in need of a branch library.
Money, however, was limited. Parkville was one of the first communities to receive
the
County's new bookmobile service which began September, 1952. The bookmobile stopped at the
corner of Harford Road and Linwood Avenue every Friday evening from 6:30 to 8:30. The stop
was later moved to the Parkville Shopping Center.
In 1959, a movement to open a library in Parkville gained strong momentum when a group of
concerned community members united to form the Parkville Library Association. This group
held its first meeting on Sunday, February 22nd, 1959 at the Hiss Methodist Church. A
constitution was later drawn up and adopted and Mr. Pete Dobbs was elected as the
Association's first president. Their stated goal was "to secure, as quickly as
possible, a permanent public library for the greater Parkville area."
The Association saw that its first task was to secure the support of the County's
government officials. Through the concerted efforts of the Association's members, the
County Librarian and the Board of Library Trustees, the County government voted in 1960 to
appropriate funds as part of the 1961 budget for the establishment of a Parkville Library.
On July 5th, 1961 the Parkville Library opened in rented quarters at 9221 Harford Road,
next door to Weber's Moving and Storage Company. It was the 11th branch of the Baltimore
County Public Library system. Mr. Marvin Thomas served as the first Branch Librarian until
October 1963 when he became the Director of the Howard County Public Library. Miss
Elizabeth Thornley succeeded him as Branch Librarian and served in this capacity until her
retirement in July 1972.
The rented quarters at 9221 Harford Road proved to be only temporary. As the Parkville
community continued to grow, so did the use of the library, and the need for a permanent,
up-to-date facility became more apparent. During this time the Parkville Library
Association continued its efforts to acquire County tax support for a new building and to
promote public library services and activities in the Parkville Community. Its members
organized book donation drives, raised funds for library furniture and equipment,
sponsored library contests, promoted library discussion groups and local art exhibits, and
helped other Baltimore County communities organize their own library groups. Their primary
goal was to secure a permanent building.
In 1967, a parcel of land on Harford Road between 5th and 6th Avenues owned by Baltimore
County was designated for a new Parkville Library building. In 1968 preliminary plans for
the new building were approved and in 1969 the County government authorized the acceptance
of bids for building the new branch. The contract was awarded to the Anchor Construction
Company. The building itself was designed by Watkins and Magee, a local architectural
firm.
On January 10th, 1971 the Parkville-Carney Branch opened in new, modern facilities of its
own at 9509 Harford Road. The new branch, a split-level structure with the adult area on
the top floor, the main lobby, charging desk and workroom on the middle floor, and the
children's area and public meeting room on the ground floor, opened with a total book
stock of 49,000 volumes and 175 magazines and newspapers. It was also the first building
in the County library system to have a ramp entrance for people in wheelchairs. The name
of the branch was changed to Parkville-Carney, after an appeal by residents of Carney, to
show that both communities would be served. The success of the new facility was evident by
a 13.4% increase in circulation during its first year, which was the largest increase in
the county system.
The Parkville Library Association turned its attention to acquiring and providing gift
funds for landscaping, equipment and library programs. The individuals most active in the
Association included Mrs. Lillian Bassford, Mr. Peter Dobbs, Mr. James Evans, Mr. William
Feige, Mrs. Adelle Feist, Mr. George Fitch, Mrs. Margaret Fry, Miss Mary Geeson, Mr.
William Guba, Mrs. Claire Hennessy, Mr. Edward Lipinski, Mr. Edward Lucas, Mr. John
Martini, Mr. Malcolm Neifeld, Mr. Leigh Noyes, Mr. Elton Oakes, Mr. Louis Petrick, Mrs.
Ruth Rich, Mr. Arnold Rohner, Mrs. Marilyn Ryan, Mr. John Schlee, Mr. Edward Stuart, and
Mr. William Wakefield. On January 23, 1974 the Association was honored when Mrs. Marilyn
Ryan, its President, was appointed to the Board of Library Trustees for Baltimore County.
The library continued to grow and add new materials through the 1970's and 80's. The
collection size has grown to over 100,000 items at present. The building has twice
undergone extensive renovations. As the use of records and 8mm film faded away, new audio
visual forms such as audio cassettes, CD's and videos became very popular. Keeping up with
new technologies, the branch introduced printed book catalogs, roll microfiche catalogs,
CD-ROM computer catalogs and now has on-line public access catalogs. In 1995 the library
catalog was made accessible to families with computers and modems in their own home. This
was quickly followed by providing Internet accounts with full graphical access and e-mail
for an annual fee. Staff are now preparing themselves for the turning on of free Internet
service at some workstations in the library during the fall of 1996. Work has also begun
in creating a Parkville-Carney Library page for the World Wide Web.
The Parkville-Carney Library continues the vision of Principal Thomas F. Malonee who
stated in 1885 that he was starting "a public library...from which the patrons and
friends of educational progress might derive benefit."
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