"...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 furthur 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 recieve 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 it's 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 it's 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 landcscaping, 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 accessable 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."
Donald J. Napoli
Library Manager 1974
Grace M. Jonke
Library Manager 1996
