The Rural Public Library: Hagerstown, Maryland, 1878-1920

TitleThe Rural Public Library: Hagerstown, Maryland, 1878-1920
Publication TypeThesis
Year of Publication1991
AuthorsMarcum, Deanna Bowling
Number of Pages296 pp.
UniversityUniversity of Maryland
CityCollege Park, MD
Thesis TypePh.D. Dissertation
LanguageEnglish
Abstract

Although urban historians point to the creation of the American public library as one response to the chaos experienced by the big cities at the end of the nineteenth century, the library developed in the rural community of Hagerstown, Maryland, resembled its urban counterparts. With no immigrants to Americanize, and no significant industrialization or urbanization, the community of Hagerstown experienced its own version of chaos.

Business elites, concerned about the image of their town, created a library as the first cultural institution in Hagerstown. The businessmen created a cultural institution to curb the social forces associated with population growth, a burgeoning transportation system, and a loss of rural homogeneity that appeared to be running out of control. The businessmen recruited a professional librarian, Mary Titcomb, from New England to manage their new institution, and she, closely linked to the American Library Association, used guidelines set by the association to establish library services.

This study traces the societal changes in Hagerstown from 1878 to 1920, examines the motivations of the businessmen for creating the library, and explores the changes in attitude of the librarian who spent her career in the town. The study indicates that although the library was created as a cultural institution in response to problems perceived by the businessmen, it did not meet the objectives they had established, largely because the library was poorly funded.

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