MS-4
LIBRARY – FLESH PUBLIC LIBRARY COLLECTION
INTRODUCTION
The records of the Flesh Public Library (formerly the Schmidlapp Free School Library) were accessioned into the Flesh Public Library Archives and Special Collections on April 12, 1986. The records were transferred from the Office of the Library Director to the Local History Department.
The Flesh Public Library is a school district library serving the Piqua, Ohio School District. The collection fills four Hollinger boxes with fifty-eight file folders. The records collection covers the years from 1918 until 1975 with a concentration of records after 1924. Library records after 1975 remain in the Office of the Library Director. There are no restrictions on the use of this collection.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The Flesh Public Library Collection is divided into four series: Annual Reports, Board Minutes/Reports, Scrapbooks, and Guest Book.
Series I, Annual Reports, contains the Library’s annual reports from 1918 until 1979. The series is missing reports from 1919-1920 through 1922 and also for the years 1938 and 1939. The annual reports contain information on library personnel, circulation statistics, and financial operations.
Series II, Board Minutes/Reports, consists of the minutes and monthly reports of the Library’s Board of Trustees. The series is a complete collection of all the Board’s minutes from 1924 until 1975 with the single exception of the minutes for the year 1954. The minutes and reports cover trustee appointments, the hiring and firing of personnel, salaries, library programs and policies, financial reports, circulation reports, and other miscellaneous material.
Series III, Scrapbooks, is a collection of three scrapbooks dating from 1894 until 1984. There are only a few scattered clippings from 1894 until 1930. The amount of information increases from 1930 until 1959. However, a majority of the clippings and photographs in Series III can be found in the last scrapbook that dates from 1974 until 1984. This is an ongoing project with the 1984 to present scrapbook still being compiled.
Series IV, Guest Book, contains over 140 signatures of the guests attending the open house of the new Library (east side) in April, 1978.
LIBRARY HISTORY
Prior to 1890 the city of Piqua did not possess a public library. This changed in 1889 when Jacob Schmidlapp donated the Schmidlapp grocery building, 509 North Main Street, to the Public Schools. Schmidlapp also donated the remodeling costs that would turn the old structure into the Schmidlapp Free School Library. The Library was formally opened to the public on October 30, 1890.
The Library was administered by a Library Committee appointed by the Piqua Board of Education. This committee remained as a part of the school system until 1924, when it was replaced by the Library Board of Trustees. The new arrangement was mandated by Ohio State law, but the Board of Education retained its ability to appoint Library trustees.
The Library moved from its Main Street location to the former Piqua Club on the northeast corner of Greene and Wayne Streets in 1931. Mr. and Mrs. Leo M. Flesh donated $25,000 towards the purchase and remodeling of the new library. With the formal dedication on November 4, 1931 the newly remodeled structure opened as the Flesh Public Library.
As of 1986 the Library maintains a staff of nineteen headed by Wallace W. White, Library Director. The Flesh Public Library Collection shows the Library’s diverse interests that include records, films, video tapes, audio tapes, as well as the more traditional printed materials.
The major printed source for the History of the Library is The Library in Piqua, 1890-1978, written by Patricia J. Best in 1978.
CONTAINER LIST
SERIES I: ANNUAL REPORTS
Box 1
File
1 Annual Reports 1918-19, 1923-37
2 Annual Reports 1940-1960
3 Annual Reports 1961-1979
SERIES II: BOARD MINUTES/REPORTS
4 Board Minutes/Reports 1924
5 Board Minutes/Reports 1925
6 Board Minutes/Reports 1926
7 Board Minutes/Reports 1927
8 Board Minutes/Reports 1928
9 Board Minutes/Reports 1929
10 Board Minutes/Reports 1930
11 Board Minutes/Reports 1931
12 Board Minutes/Reports 1932
13 Board Minutes/Reports 1933
14 Board Minutes/Reports 1934
15 Board Minutes/Reports 1935
16 Board Minutes/Reports 1936
17 Board Minutes/Reports 1937
18 Board Minutes/Reports 1938
19 Board Minutes/Reports 1939
20 Board Minutes/Reports 1940
21 Board Minutes/Reports 1941
22 Board Minutes/Reports 1942
23 Board Minutes/Reports 1943
Box 2
File
1 Board Minutes/Reports 1944
2 Board Minutes/Reports 1945
3 Board Minutes/Reports 1946
4 Board Minutes/Reports 1947
5 Board Minutes/Reports 1948
6 Board Minutes/Reports 1949
7 Board Minutes/Reports 1950
8 Board Minutes/Reports 1951
9 Board Minutes/Reports 1952
10 Board Minutes/Reports 1953
MISSING 1954
11 Board Minutes/Reports 1955
12 Board Minutes/Reports 1956
13 Board Minutes/Reports 1957
14 Board Minutes/Reports 1958
15 Board Minutes/Reports 1959
Box 3
File
1 Board Minutes/Reports 1960
2 Board Minutes/Reports 1961
3 Board Minutes/Reports 1962
4 Board Minutes/Reports 1963
5 Board Minutes/Reports 1964
6 Board Minutes/Reports 1965
7 Board Minutes/Reports 1966
8 Board Minutes/Reports 1967
9 Board Minutes/Reports 1968
10 Board Minutes/Reports 1969
11 Board Minutes/Reports 1970
12 Board Minutes/Reports 1971
Box 4
File
1 Board Minutes/Reports 1972
2 Board Minutes/Reports 1973
3 Board Minutes/Reports 1974
4 Board Minutes/Reports 1975
SERIES III: SCRAPBOOKS
5 Scrapbook 1894-1953
6 Scrapbook 1954-1974
7 Scrapbook 1974-1984
8 PMMC Book Truck
SERIES IV GUEST BOOK
Loose Guest Book 1978