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The new Tustin
Library, which will be dedicated at 345 Main St.
during 10 a.m. ceremonies on Saturday, has
traveled a long and bumpy road with many stops
since 1890 when a few Tustin ladies gathered a
collection of books and set up a Reading Room in
the Tustin Grammar School on C Street.
By 1906 more than
1,500 books were available to the schoolchildren
and residents of Tustin. When the new Tustin
Grammar School opened next door in 1914, the
Reading Room, still staffed by volunteers, moved
there.
The Orange County
Free Library took over the Reading Room in 1924,
opening it to the public, but branch service did
not begin until 1931 when Mrs. Hazel Gowdy, wife
of a Tustin orange grower, was hired as the
first head librarian. In 1933 an earthquake
damaged the school, including the library.
Temporary classrooms used up most of the vacant
space in Tustin, but Mrs. Gowdy and the salvaged
books found a home in a tiny office at the rear
of the First National Bank building.
Carolyn Campbell,
postmistress and library board member, called
the new location which opened onto D Street (El
Camino Real) “a miserable little hole.” Her
husband and several other men built temporary
book shelves, never dreaming that the library
would stay in this cubbyhole until 1938.
Mrs. Gowdy and
others in the community continually lobbied for
better quarters and finally the library was
moved to a 1914 era building at 130 W. Main St.
The Chamber of Commerce, businesses and
individuals donated materials and money for
tables, benches, magazine racks and shelves to
equip this larger location. The Tustin High
School shop classes under the direction of
Orville Northrup, who would later become
principal, volunteered as carpenters. In 1946
the library moved again; this time into the
location now occupied by Rutabegorz. Then in
1950 they moved to the city of Tustin Annex on
Third Street, sharing space with the fire
department, police, city government and court.
Eight years later
the population growth forced another move to
Andrew Place at Newport Avenue. This building
was enlarged in 1963, but soon became too small
with a doubling of patron registration and
tripling of circulation. By 1974 the library no
longer had room for its 59,304 volumes,
including 32,438 adult books and 26,866
children’s books, and plans were made for a
13,000-square-foot location in the still to-bebuilt
Civic Center.
Little did they
realize when this proposal became a reality in
1976 that 30 some years later this space too
would be outgrown and they would be moving
again. This time into a light and airy 32,400
square feet location with abundant comfortable
seating and wifi access throughout.
Other special
features include an adult computer section,
offering 26 computer stations and on-line
catalog stations, nonfiction and fiction
collections with Large Print materials, a
selection of 200 magazines and newspapers, a
teen “zone” equipped with six computers and
study rooms, an adult quiet room, a computer lab
for classsize instruction, a homework center, a
community room and large conference room as well
as space for the Friends of the Library book
store.
The Elizabeth
Anne MacPherson Children’s Learning Center
featuring a story time room, study alcove, 20
computers, and books to entice every child
reader as well as a children’s patio.
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