Books and Our Town: The History of the Rutherford County Library System

By Lisa R Ramsay

In 2023, the Rutherford County Library System will celebrate its 75th anniversary. The library's long history is chronicled here to commemorate the people and establishments that helped it flourish into the multi-branch organization of today. Beginning with a newspaper editorial by Robert Lasseter lamenting the idea that a college tow

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rutherford County Library System
• Release date: Mar 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9798218166168

Book preview

Books and Our Town

Books and Our Town

Books and Our Town

The History of the Rutherford County Library System

Lisa R. Ramsay

publisher logo

Copyright © 2023 by Lisa R. Ramsay

ISBN 979-8-218-16573-4

Library of Congress Control Number: 2023906327

Published by the Rutherford County Library System (using IngramSpark)

Murfreesboro, Tennessee

All newspaper clippings are used with permission from the publisher.

Cover photo (top) courtesy Rutherford County Archives, Rutherford County Historical Society Collection

Cover photo (bottom) by Jim Davis / Murfreesboro Parks & Recreation. Used with permission.

Printed in the United States of America

For information, contact the Rutherford County Library System at:

Telephone [phone]

E-mail [e-mail]

Visit us at www.rclstn.org

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or the publisher. The author and publisher disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

For Henry Linebaugh, thanks for getting us started.

Acknowledgments

My interest in writing the library's history was sparked when I was introduced to the Historical Research Room vault shortly after beginning my employment at Linebaugh. The vault was really just a large closet, but among the items housed in there were scrapbooks, photos, and papers from the library's earliest days. I was fascinated with all of it and began reading the documents and scanning clippings and pictures. The first encouragement for writing this came from Director Laurel Best when she returned my list of goals for the following year, which included my wish to write a complete library history. Her note said, !!That's a great idea!!

Words of encouragement over the years came from my library supervisors and many co-workers like Rita Shacklett, Carol Ghattas, Garrett Crowell, Kathleen Tyree, Lisa Robert, Susan Todd, Kevin Robertson, Dave O’Flaherty, and Pete Wood. My family was also among those supporting my desire to write, offering reassuring words along the way. Thank you all for being the cheering audience I needed to take on this feat. Thanks also to Joan McRay and Sandra Campbell for taking the time to proofread the book for me.

Saving the most important for last, I need to thank my partner in all things, Tammy Vaughn. She edited every article I wrote and re-edited it as it became a book. Tammy created the index and compiled the list of board members into a manageable, readable chart. Tammy, thank you for all your hard work and for calming me every time I began to stress over completing it.

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Myla Parsons, Librarian 1942-1962

Briley Queen Adcock, Librarian 1962-1995

Laurel Best, Director 1995- 2008

Rita Shacklett, Director 2008-present

Significant Events and Staffing Changes

Board Members

Index

About The Author

Introduction

The seventy-five-year history of the Rutherford County Library System began with an editorial in the Rutherford Courier by Robert Lasseter on January 27, 1942, called Books and Our Town. It appealed to the citizens of Murfreesboro to create a public library. The plea was answered by Henry T. Linebaugh, a Murfreesboro native who had made his fortune in Florida.

When Linebaugh was still a teenager, he left Tennessee with his older brother Charles to find work. Ultimately, he became a businessman in the early building trade in Tampa, Florida. His affection for his hometown was evident in his $5,000 donation to make a free public library available to the citizens in Murfreesboro. His only request was for the library to be named after his mother, Mattie V. Linebaugh. Initial correspondence between Linebaugh and Robert Lasseter began soon after the editorial was published and continued for many months while city leaders weighed the offer. Some hesitation among the local businessmen concerning the arrangement delayed progress for a while, and Linebaugh became weary of the wait. He sometimes wrote of exploring other library possibilities with the Tennessee College for Women or the State Teacher’s College. Lasseter was adamant that the library should be a free PUBLIC library and implored Robert T. Bell, Jr., president of the Murfreesboro Bank and Trust Co., to assist in swaying the city to draft a resolution to accept Linebaugh’s offer. Soon after, the resolution was written, and a library board was created. Unfortunately, Linebaugh did not live to see his gift come to fruition. He died on December 17, 1943.

The new library board invited proposals from the local colleges and the Women’s Club about a possible collaborative arrangement to make their libraries available to the public. Lasseter felt the better choice would have been to combine with the Women’s Club as they had a desirable location. Some library experts, including Martha Parks (Director of the State Department of Education, Library Division), cautioned against cooperating with any clubs, organizations, or schools because doing so would prevent the library from taking advantage of state and federal funds.

Myla Parsons, a Christiana school teacher, was selected as the first librarian while she attended Peabody College, studying library science. She began on September 1, 1947, working on the second floor of the courthouse while details of a permanent location for the library were being worked out. She was assisted in the earliest days of the library by Katie Lee Peyton, who was responsible for school textbooks. Just a month before opening the new library in the old Hale home, the Rotary Club hosted the first library fundraiser by inviting renowned violinist David Rubinoff to give a concert in the Middle Tennessee State College auditorium.

The following chapters were originally written in article form from 2017 to 2021 for the library system’s internal newsletter, the Library Link. They unveil the history of the library system primarily in chronological order. Some paragraphs are marked with a bold heading to highlight a significant moment for a branch or big news for the organization.  The final section notes significant accomplishments and changes for the personnel from 1980 through 2023. Many people worked for the library system over its 75-year history, but not all names could be found in the official board records and may not be mentioned here. Efforts were made to note each staff member who contributed significantly during their time with the library.

Myla Parsons, Librarian 1942-1962

Library will open on April 1, announced the Rutherford Courier on March 23, 1948. After more than six years of letters to and from Henry T. Linebaugh, council discussions, and preparations delayed by the war, the Linebaugh Public Library held an open house on April 1. More than 600 local citizens and out-of-town visitors toured the library in the newly renovated Hale house (previously known as the Eaton home) at Central Memorial Park. The joint city-county library board spent $3,500 on new furnishings, including soft red leather chairs and couches for the conference room and thousands of books. Because the library had arranged to participate in the Regional Library Project administered by the Middle Tennessee State College Library, they were given many newly published works. Numerous donations were also received; on opening day, more than 7,000 books were on the shelves.

The new library building was initially constructed on East Main Street in 1850 as the home of Joseph H. Eaton when he began his tenure as President of Union University - also on the property. During the Civil War, the Union and the Confederacy used the house intermittently as a hospital. After the war ended, classes resumed for a time, but when the university moved to Jackson in 1873, the house remained empty until it was purchased by Edward L. Jordan, president of the First National Bank. In 1906, the Hale family purchased the house and donated it to the Tennessee College, a new Baptist school for women who used it until 1945.

The library was located in the newly constructed Central Memorial Park, completed the previous summer. The park, situated on 25 acres, included picnic areas, a swimming pool, a lighted softball field with bleachers, tennis courts, and a fenced playground, called Tiny Tot Town, with slides, swings, and a merry-go-round for young children. It featured outdoor movies and live plays. The addition of the library completed a project to bring activities and programming to the town with easy access for most residents.

Linebaugh remained at this location until October 1953, when a bequest by Emma Cosby Weitzel enabled the library board to purchase its second