Library Roles

• Serving the community by providing information, inspiration, entertainment, and connecting socially.
• Maintain a reference and information center by having convenient access to local newspapers, magazines, local history, and a community bulletin board.
• Creates an engaging atmosphere for families, teens, and children.
• Provide meeting space for some non-profit organizations.
• Being a community trusted partner.

Mission Statement

“Open A Book, Open A Mind, Open A Future”

History

Early in the 1970’s a committee was formed to raise funds for a city library. A temporary, small, rotation books program through SEK Library System was housed in the Hamilton City Hall. This program was very successful and outgrew the five feet of space allocated for them in City Hall. The first librarian was Glenda Long; she was also the city clerk. It was realized in 1974, that the service would have to move from the city offices, the original site, to the township building across the street. Hamilton’s Lions Club was doing the needed construction work on the building. In 1974 the first library was acquired and a librarian was hired (Marti Lindamood.) The next structure was a wooden, flat-roofed building, which was built around the turn of the century. Before that time  he building had housed a tavern, a jewelry store, a teen center, a butcher shop, a café, storage for an oil company, a beauty shop and a fire station. Half of the building was used for the library and the other half for a private business. This library was 14 ft.by 40 ft. Election day, November 2, 1976, the people of Hamilton voted on whether or not to legally establish the library in Hamilton. The tax question passed and the city library became tax supported. At that time, Hamilton’s library was the newest library in the area of South Eastern Kansas Library System, one of four in Greenwood County.

Board of Directors

Staff