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Show Determination, Cooperation Were Tools Used by Community in Getting a Library Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, a town of 1,560 population located in the central part of the state, ivas (and is) clean, prosperous, and progressive. It icas, reports Mary Ellen Jackson Jack-son in an article in the October issue of "TVie Rotarian," a fortunate community in every respectexcept one. There teas no library in town; and at the time this story begins, there seemed to be small hope of getting one. Tliere ivas in Martinsburg, however, at least one indefatigable indefa-tigable supporter of the library idea. As it turned out, that was enough to keep the project alive in the minds of the people peo-ple a n d to stimulate its develop- JMIEL :Hiiil FEATURE them. ment until it became a satisfactory reality. Authoress Mary Ellen Jackson Jack-son tells the story like this: "Blair M. Bice, young editor of the weekly Herald, had long cherished the dream of a community commu-nity library. Through spirited editorials, edi-torials, this Martinsburg newspaperman newspa-perman had tried to rouse interest, and there had been several attempts at-tempts to launch a f r e e library. Nothing, however, had come of "But when petite Jane lloyt came to town, the dream began to take shape. Jane was college-bred and a full-fledged full-fledged libraiiaji. Besides, she was young and beautiful, and bubbling with enthusiasm for Blair Bice's idea. So, in no time at all, the two of them mapped out a library organization organiza-tion and assembled a board of directors consisting of a minister, mini-ster, a dentist, a doctor's tcife, a teacher, a salesman, a house-ivifeand house-ivifeand a poetess! "At once the various clubs of the totvn sat up and took notice. One donated an upper room in the Municipal Building. Build-ing. The Community Chest came through with a check for much-needed supplies. A table went in and stacks went up. Meanwhile, donations of books began pouring in. Beloved books, dog-eared from much handling, but still good to read. Old books, ranging from the classical to the comic. New ones in their vivid jackets. , "And now came the best part of it all! Women all over totvn began offering their help free. Girls of every age, bright-eyed young matrons, busy horn emakers most of them l entirely unscliooled in the mechanics of preparing books for circulation but eager to learn. With her gift of drawing people peo-ple together, Jane Hoyt started giving evening classes in library li-brary science, introducing the novices to the details of the Dewey decimal system, and the card catalog. "Then came opening day. People swarmed in happy droves, and while chatting, munching cookies, and sipping the punch, they browsed among the long shelves crowded icilh food for the mind and spirit and heart. "For several years now Martinsburg's free community library Jias been going full tilt. Climb the stairs just any day . and the healthy buzz of children's voices greets you at the entrance to the bright and busy room. Every Saturday afternoon after-noon there's a story hour conducted by two of our women ivho have a special way with children: Mrs. Jane Dougherty and Miss Lula Brumbaugh, a retired school teacher. "All the scores of women who help do so without thought of pay serving under lovely, brainy Luella Keller, who lias succeeded Jane Hoyt, now one of Martinsburg's young matrons interested in-terested in using the facilities of the library for her own children." Probably one of the finest aspects as-pects of this genuine community achievement is that everyone in totvn is deeply aicare that the library li-brary might still be nothing but a dream, had it not been for the drive and vision of one determined man who was fortunate enough to have the excellent and unstinting cooperation of all the individuals and groups that make Martinsburg Mar-tinsburg the enviable place that it is. Give credit to the Martinsburg Herald, too. Blair Bice, the "determined man," tliinks of his editorial pen as one of the best instruments ever devised to serve his fellow men. |