The Newport Public Library

The Newport Public Library. Perry County Bicentennial. , In the spirit of the early 20th century American Progressivism Newport's Civic Club led the creation of the Newport Free Library dedicated November 1915. The School Board provided space in the new Fourth Street School, and club members solicited subscriptions to pay for books, catalogue cards and furnishings., Hours were Wednesdays, 2 pm to 4 pm. The first librarian was Mrs. Delphine Pennell, assisted by other volunteers. Twelve years later, Mrs. Annie Briner was employed for $1 a week. In 1950, the need for increased classroom space forced the library to vacate the school. In 1956, the library reopened across the street in the Old Town House., The Disastrous 1972 Hurricane Agnes Flood , From 1959 to 1969, the library was located on the second floor of the old Borough building in the 200 block of Market Street. The library relocated for a third time to the ground floor of 29 South 2nd Street. The 1972 flood inundated the collection of 9,000 items, ruining 4,000 books and historic papers. The recovering library moved to the Buriak/Zuckerman building on the Square at 22-24 North 2nd Street in 1976. Later, the library relocated to 26 North 2n Street and, yet again, to 57 North 2nd Street, the former Rippman residence., Finally, a Home to Call its Own , In 1988, thanks to a generous gift by Charles E. and Elsie Hoke Bosserman, a matching government grant and a capital campaign, the present building at 316 North 4th Street was constructed. Newport architect James Ford designed the building. The first librarian at the present 4th Street location was Mary Landis, who was, for generations, an outstanding community leader. The facility now holds over 15,000 items and continues to serve the greater community of eastern Perry County.,

The first attempt at a town library occurred in 1903 when the Newport Womans (sic) Club placed 50 books in Pennell's store. Mrs. Pennell acted as librarian, distributing books from 7 to 8 PM, Tuesdays and Fridays. This space became the core collections of the Free Public Library. , Cited by: Mary Landis, Perry County Times, September 3, 1988.

, [Captions:] , At the November 1988 dedication, L to 4: Nell Buffenmeyer; Trustee Emeritus; Fred Noye, State Representative; Mary Kurkowski, President of the Board of Trustees; Jim Ford, Architect; Mary Landis, Librarian; William T. Warne, II, Trustee; Margaret (Peg) Tressler, Trustee; and Martha McDermott, Newport Mayor., The Old Town House pictured around 1910 at its 4th Street location next to St Paul's Lutheran Church. The historic building was demolished in the early 1960s.