Salt Lake City's library started with 12K books. Here's its circulation 125 years later

SALT LAKE CITY — The first-ever Salt Lake City public library was "surprisingly well patronized" when its doors opened in the morning of Feb. 14, 1898, newspapers reported that day.

Scores of people sifted through an initial catalog of nearly 12,000 books at the Salt Lake City-County Building. The books were donated by the Pioneer Library Association.

It shouldn't have been much of a surprise that the opening day was that popular. City library historians note that grassroots efforts by civic groups and city leaders helped produce this original library. Over 1,000 residents signed a petition calling for the library within days of it being proposed the year before, even reforming tax policy to come.

And the Salt Lake Herald-Republican proclaimed that the library "should be the pride of the town."

One hundred and twenty-five years later, the Salt Lake City Public Library System is still buzzing, even as it has grown to greater heights. The Main Library — completed in 2003 — is now across the street from the original location. There are also seven branch libraries scattered throughout the city limits with another branch desired in the Ballpark neighborhood in the future.

It's amassed quite a collection that's grown beyond the initial number of books. The library system has grown to 668,577 items — books, e-books, DVDs and more — at the start of 2023, according to Quinn McQueen, director of marketing and communications for the Salt Lake City Public Library System.

This number fluctuates because the library adds and subtracts items regularly, as new books or movies arrive and damaged ones are removed. It also had a circulation of 2.6 million in 2022.

The evolution of libraries in Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City did have libraries before 1898, but they were operated in different ways. It began with an effort by early pioneers to curate a collection of celebrated English authors and translated Greek and Latin classics in 1851, according to library historians. These ultimately ended up in what became the Utah Territorial Library.

The Ladies Library Association came up with a short-lived system in the 1870s, closing just before the Masonic Public Library opened in 1877. The Masonic Order's 10,000 books ended up in the Pioneer Library Association after the library closed in 1891 due to finances.

In 1896, the newly-formed state of Utah passed a law that paved the way for the establishment of free public libraries, setting up that busy first day on Feb. 14, 1898.

But the Salt Lake City Public Library System didn't stop there. As the collection neared 15,000 books in 1900, the city looked to build a library building of its own. It eventually came in the form of a building located at 15 S. State, which still stands today as the O.C. Tanner Jewelers store in downtown Salt Lake City.

Its first branch location, named after the city's first public librarian Annie Chapman, opened on the city's west side in 1918. Even with additional branches, the growth of the city and the demand for books led to a new main library, which opened at 209 E. 500 South in 1964.

That library wasn't enough either, though it still serves as the Leonardo science and art museum today. The city opened a new main location next door in 2003.

The library offers so much more than books though, as it has become more of a community gathering place.

The Salt Lake library system offers programs for children, book clubs, community events, cultural celebrations, software for learning new languages and access to Consumer Reports, among other things, McQueen says. Libraries are even major Wi-Fi access points for people who don't have access to the internet.

Residents don't have to enter a building as much as they used to, either. Some services that used to be in-person only, such as storytime reading, have had more of an online presence in recent years, primarily fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down in-person access for about a year.

Even the selections are becoming more digitalized, as e-books and audiobooks have swept over libraries across the globe. These have allowed residents to access books even when they're out of town or unable to make it to a physical location for any reason, McQueen explains.

"It has kind of allowed us to be even more malleable and meet people where they are," she said, adding that the digital divide in communities is still a challenge that the library is working to overcome.

Celebrating 125 and beyond

The Salt Lake City Public Library System plans to celebrate this year with some sort of event this summer, McQueen said. Administrators are still piecing together what that celebration will look like, including if it will be at all of the current branch locations or a major celebration at the Salt Lake Main Library, which also turns 20 this year.

"It's just a fun time to celebrate everything we've done and recommit to our presence in Salt Lake City (as we) look forward to the future," she said.

As the system grows in popularity over time, there are quite a few parallels to the system's origin story 125 years ago. Neighborhoods without a library branch are always pushing for one to serve the needs that libraries provide, such as a safe learning space.

It's why the department put together a strategic plan in 2017 to map out the next steps to match the growing city.

The ongoing growing demand for libraries all these years later just goes to show that even though the Salt Lake City library has evolved over the past 125 years, the need for public libraries, which sparked the system in the first place, hasn't changed much in that time.

"We're still in high demand," McQueen adds. "It really is fascinating to think about how the public library has been around through (multiple major changes) in Salt Lake City, and it's really remained such a cornerstone in the community."

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