A Concise History
In 1879, a group of prominent Tuscaloosa businessmen donated books from their private libraries to establish a “Library Room” in a large parlor above a drugstore. They hoped to provide a comfortable space where “young men” could “read, talk, crack jokes, or play drafts, backgammon, or chess, thus passing their idle time, if not advantageously, certainly free from all evil influences.” After only two years, Tuscaloosa’s first “City Library” closed, perhaps because not many young men wished to spend their time in such wholesome pursuits.
Thirty years later, in 1911, a group of progressive women formed the “Up-To-Date Club” and pressed the Tuscaloosa County Board of Revenue to allocate funds for a new library. The Board released two rooms in the basement of the old Tuscaloosa County Courthouse to establish a “County Library” to be staffed by a librarian and kept open to “every citizen” of the county. The women of the Up-To-Date Club provided furnishings, books and staff since the Board of Revenue would not fund the library until it was “established, equipped and opened to the public.” By 1922, the Tuscaloosa County Library had become a funded community service with a full-time librarian.
The new Library quickly outgrew the cramped space in the Courthouse basement. Civic clubs joined the Up-To-Date Club to support the purchase of the old Searcy Home which the Tuscaloosa County Library would share with the County Board of Education from 1926 until 1958. Funding for library operating expenses was provided by both Tuscaloosa County and the City of Tuscaloosa, with books and furnishings donated by individuals and civic organizations. During the Great Depression and World War II, the Tuscaloosa County Library continued to serve a growing population and even expanded its programs to include a Children’s Reading Room and branches in outlying communities. A special advisory group of Tuscaloosa businessmen worked with the Library Board and staff to plan for future growth.
By the end of World War II, total volumes had increased from 500 to more than 10,000, and annual staff salaries had increased from $300 to $2,040. A new Bookmobile was purchased by the Tuscaloosa Civitan Club in 1947; it made 56 stops and provided a circulation of 70,000 volumes in the first six months. Holdings doubled to more than 21,000, and total circulation was up to 236,627 volumes in 1951. A citizens’ support group, the Friends of the Library Association, was organized to assist the Library Board in securing funds from public and private sources to meet the growing demand for library services. The Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) increased its assistance and provided professional support to both the Library Board and the staff.