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Celebrate 50 Years of the Ohio County Public Library at 52 - 16th Street

Posted 04/04/23

Celebrate 50 Years of the Ohio County Public Library at 52 - 16th Street

Memories have been made at the library in Wheeling since 1882. However, for fifty years, the Ohio County Public Library at 52 - 16th Street has been the destination for recreation, knowledge, resources, and community gatherings.

Join us in celebrating fifty years of the Ohio County Public Library at 52  - 16th Street this May! We're going back to 1973 with '70s themed activities for all ages. 

SHARE YOUR MEMORIES OF 52 - 16TH STREET

Everyone in the Wheeling community has memories of the Ohio County Public Library at 52 - 16th Street. Coming to Story Times and Toddler Times! Getting your first library card! Class field trips! Lunch with Books programs! Checking out stacks of books to discover new things!

What are your memories of 52 - 16th Street? We want to know! Share your memories with us as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the current location of the Ohio County Public Library!

Share Your Memories

That '70s Week Toddler Time

Monday, May 8, 2023 - 10:30am

Do you have great memories of Toddler Time and Story Time at the Ohio County Public Library? Bring the kids in your life to enjoy Toddler Time during That '70s Week as we read Monster Dance!

Based on the "Mother Goose on the Loose" program, Toddler Time is a fun-filled thirty-minute interactive program that uses rhymes, songs, puppets, musical instruments, and more to stimulate the learning process of babies and toddlers. It is a proven method for planning and presenting programs that focus on the whole child.

Join us for this special program most Monday and Friday mornings at 10:30 AM in the library auditorium. Toddler Time is held in the auditorium on the lower level of the Library.

70's Macramé Monday

Monday, May 8, 2023 - 4:00pm

Remember that far out crafting trend of the 1970s - macramé? Go back to the hippie-era with knottting and weaving as we make macramé gnomes.

LUNCH WITH BOOKS: 50 Years at 52-16th Street feat. Music by Vinyl Soul

Tuesday, May 9, 2023 - Noon

Celebrating 50 years at this Location! The new $1.5 million Ohio County Public Library opened its doors for business on May 7, 1973, with a formal dedication on May 19. We will celebrate the 50th anniversary of that opening in grand style. Get ready to party like it’s 1973! Featuring the music of Vinyl Soul; 1970s food; trivia; memories, a photo booth, and a costume contest!

In addition to being in-person in the Library auditorium, this program will be available to watch live on Facebook Live, on YouTube, and on the OCPL website's LWB Livestream page.  Log into your Facebook or YouTube account during the program to leave questions for our presenters in the comments box. They will answer them during the live broadcast. 

Back to the '70s Story Time & Tie Dye Party

Tuesday, May 9th & Wednesday, 10th - 10:00am

In celebration of the Ohio County Public Library's 50th Anniversary at 52 - 16th Street we're going back to the '70s at Story Time! Join us for a special tie dye party! Bring a shirt to dye!

Do you have great memories of Toddler Time and Story Time at the Ohio County Public Library? Bring the kids in your life to enjoy Story Time during That '70s Week as we read A Beastly Story!

Story Time programs introduce young children to books, rhymes, songs, crafts, and other fun activities. Library Story Time incorporates the early literacy skills that children must master before they can learn to read. Story Times are designed for children 3-5 years old, though all ages are welcome. The program lasts approximately 45 minutes and caregivers are asked to participate with their children. Story Time is held in the Children's Department

OCPL Puzzle Palooza

Tuesday, May 9, 2023 - 9am-9pm

Join us for OCPL Puzzle Palooza. Come alone or with the entire family to work a puzzle as we bring the community together for the 50th Anniversary of the Ohio County Public Library at 52 - 16th Street!

Paint Your Own Ceramic Owl or Frog

Wednesday, May 10th - 6:00pm

Remember those awesome ceramic owls and frogs in your kitchens and living rooms from the 1970s? Your entire family can paint your own during the Ohio County Public Library Anniversary 50th Anniversary week! Jump back to the '70s and join in the celebration!

Reservations are required and due by Wednesday, April 26th! Register today at the link below!

Make a Reservation

STORY TIME AFTER DARK! '70s Dance Party

May 11th - 6:00pm

Boogie back to 1973 at Story Time After Dark! Join Miss Nettie and Miss Dianna for a '70s Dance Party.

 

 

 

That '70s Week Toddler Time

Friday, May 12, 2023 - 10:30am

Do you have great memories of Toddler Time and Story Time at the Ohio County Public Library? Bring the kids in your life to enjoy Toddler Time during That '70s Week as we read Monster Dance!

Based on the "Mother Goose on the Loose" program, Toddler Time is a fun-filled thirty-minute interactive program that uses rhymes, songs, puppets, musical instruments, and more to stimulate the learning process of babies and toddlers. It is a proven method for planning and presenting programs that focus on the whole child.

Join us for this special program most Monday and Friday mornings at 10:30 AM in the library auditorium. Toddler Time is held in the auditorium on the lower level of the Library

Legomania

Friday, May 12, 2023 - 10:00am-5:00pm

Build the Join us for Legomania

 

 

 

 

History of the Ohio County Public Library

“The future holds much in store for the library, which is the agency for keeping our citizens informed.”-Miss Virginia Ebeling, Librarian, Ohio County Public Library

The Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling is West Virginia’s oldest tax-supported library.

It opened as the “Wheeling Public Library” on October 12, 1882. Several subscription libraries operated in Wheeling from as early as 1807 when the Wheeling Library Company was chartered. Most charged a fee for patrons to use their resources. But the free Wheeling Public Library was a product of the Mercantile Library Association, (also subscription based) which was chartered in 1859 by the Ohio County Circuit Court and which closed on March 29, 1881.

“Realizing the advantages of a public library,” the city’s Board of Education (BOE) created a library committee that met in January 1882 to consider “organizing one.” The defunct Wheeling (Mercantile) Library Association’s collection was transferred to the BOE with the stipulation that the Board “shall secure such legislation as will enable the Board to assume the control of the books and provide for the necessary expenses of caring for and perpetuating said library to the satisfaction of the trustees and under such conditions to be hereafter agreed upon.”

State legislation passed on February 14, 1882, provided for the establishment, maintenance, and support of a public library by the BOE.

The new library was housed over R.J. Smyth’s grocery at the corner of 14th and Market Streets (later the Hub Department store). Subsequent locations included: Masonic Temple (1894-1907), Schmulbach Building (1907-May 1910), Delaplaine dry goods house at 1305-07 Main Street (1910-1911), 2100 Market Street (January 9, 1911-May 18, 1973), and 52-16th Street (May 19, 1973-Present).

In 1904, Wheeling voters, with considerable influence from local labor organizations (largely due to memories of the 1892 Homestead Strike), rejected a grant from Andrew Carnegie to build a new library. The Board of Education then assumed the expense of building a new facility without any assistance from Carnegie. Designed by Charles W. Bates, the new library opened on January 9, 1911 at 2100 Market Street.

The library’s children’s department opened in March 1912. In the early 1920’s the library was recognized as one of the largest collections in the state and it continued to lead the state by providing innovative services such as the first bookmobile in the state (1935), extensive audio recording and music libraries (1938), branch library collections, and audiovisual materials.

The Tax Limitation Amendment to the West Virginia Constitution, ratified in November 1932, did not provide for funding of public libraries and necessitated the passage of special legislation.

On May 22, 1933 a county unit bill was passed which abolished local school districts and created consolidated county boards of education. The Ohio County Board of Education was born.

On May 31, 1933, the West Virginia Legislature passed special legislation creating the Ohio County Public Library, an organization to be governed by a board of trustees and passing title to the public library's assets from the Wheeling independent school district to a board of trustees for the library.

The Act also required that for the maintenance and operation of the Library, the Board of Education of Ohio County was to lay the annual levy (set at 3 cents on each one hundred dollars of the assessed valuation of the property of Ohio County) and disburse the money to the Library’s Board of Trustees. In other words, since the public library itself was not empowered to levy taxes, the Board of Education was seen as the best entity to do so on behalf of the library. As Virginia Ebeling wrote in her history of the library, “This act of legislature enabled the library to enter upon its period of greatest usefulness to the public.”

Later the special law was amended to include monies from the Ohio County property tax assessments.

According to The West Virginia Business & Economic Review, the property tax “remains one of the primary sources of revenue for local governments across the nation due to its dependability and stability.” Furthermore, “West Virginia’s property tax is one of the lowest per capita and per personal income in the nation.”

Sources:

Ebeling, Virginia. “Library Development in Ohio County” West Virginia History.
An analysis of the historical growth and development of the West Virginia Library Association and its effect upon the advancement of public librarianship in the state of West Virginia / Julian, Charles Anthony. West Virginia Library Association. Ann Arbor, MI : UMI, c1990.
West Virginia Business & Economic Review, Volume 16, Spring 2009.
West Virginia Public Library Almanac, 2000.

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