The earliest mention of any sort of library in Newman was in 1892. Mrs. O. B. Ficklin established a library of 114 volumes at an unknown location. In 1909, the Newman Women's Club founded a library for its members. It was open to the public on Friday afternoons and was initially located in the grade school, later moving to the township high school. The library moved to the Presbyterian Church in 1917, where it remained under their supervision at least until 1926.
We are unsure of the status of the library for the next ten years, though it may have lapsed for in June 1936 it was announced that Newman Public Library would open under the sponsorship of the Newman Kiwanis Club. This was a joint effort between the local club and the national Works Progress Administration (WPA). In the article announcing the reading rooms in the Presbyterian Church, the Newman Independent stated, "Newman has long needed a good library."
The WPA was a program begun in 1935 by the federal government to create jobs during the Great Depression. By partnering with the Kiwanis Club and the Illinois State Library they created a librarian's position in Newman. The first librarian was Effie Luallen, a married woman in her mid-forties with two teenage children. Her husband was a straw salesman. She remained librarian until 1962, as far as we can determine.
In July 1937, the library's supervision transferred from the WPA to the Library Extension Division of the Illinois State Library. Supposedly this brought more opportunities to acquire books and provided better supervision and support.
As the Depression receded and the WPA-type programs ended in 1942, the community had to make a choice, either loose the library or find another way to fund it. Local citizens and organizations provided interim funds, and a referendum was placed on the spring 1943 ballot for Newman Township . The vote passed with a "good majority" according to the Newman Independent . The first library trustees were: Hortense Swickard, J. H. McIntyre, Effie Fansler, Gladys Lyon, John E. Wax and Rachel Roller.
The library continued to serve the community under the guidance of Mrs. Virgil Harbaugh from 1972. That same year the library moved to the location at 42 South Broadway. The building was rented and eventually was outgrown.
When the First State Bank of Newman built a new building, the library board requested the older storefront building at 108 W. Yates Street . We received the building in October of 1998. Renovations to the building were done by Mark Fraser, Dennis Kibler and other community volunteers. The library moved to the new location on April 15, 1999 under the supervision of librarian, Melissa Catron.
Recognizing that many residents in the area did not have access to a public library, NTL's board of trustees began the process to convert to a district library in March 2006. One month later, the township board voted to permit separation. The conversion was finalized in court at the end of May with an effective date of July 1, 2006. This will position the new Newman Regional Library District to annex by referendum in April 2007 the six other townships in Shiloh School District.
Newman Regional Library District is not affiliated with AmericanTowns Media
