Library collection on Alliance Memory [1]
Clarence J. (Bill) Rodman, benefactor to many institutions and organizations, made possible the construction of the present Rodman Public Library building. His early 1960s support for the Alliance library gave the impetus for expansion and for a facility that has served the community well for over 40 years. Mr. Rodman’s donations extended to Ripon College, Parsons College, and Mount Union College, institutions from which he held degrees.
Born in Milwaukee in 1890, son of a minister, Clarence Rodman displayed an early interest in the world of business. He earned advanced degrees in chemical engineering and began his career with Eastman Kodak and Westinghouse. Advancement in his career brought him to Alliance, where he managed the Buckeye Jack Company and served as an officer of the Alliance Manufacturing Company. His scientific and business knowledge soon prompted Rodman to organize his own company, the Steel Sanitary Company, followed by Alliance Porcelain Products, AllianceWare, and Alliance Tool Company.
In addition to his businesses and philanthropy, Mr. Rodman was active in civic affairs. He served on the Alliance Board of Education, was a director of two local banks, and provided leadership in Alliance’s development corporations. Other memberships included the Rotary Club, Wranglers Club, Exchange Club, and Masons. Mr. Rodman was a veteran of World War I. He died in 1972.
--February 26, 2005
Find out more about Rodman Library's history [2]
[ 1900 ][ 1910 ][ 1920 ][ 1930 ][ 1940 ][ 1950 ]
[ 1960 ][ 1970 ][ 1980 ][ 1990 ][ 2000 ]
Alliance Public Library [3] opens at Alliance High School.
Carnegie Free Library dedicated on September 6. Andrew Carnegie [4] donated $25,000 for the building.
Library collected books and phonograph records for World War I camp libraries.
A gift of Romanian books starts the foreign language collection.
High School Library becomes a public library branch.
Miss Josephine Stanley is employed as the Library's first trained children's librarian.
Children's Room [5] for those under the age of 14 established separate from Adult area.
Arcade Station Branch [6], later destroyed by fire, was opened at the Lawn News Stand in the Spring-Holzwarth Arcade.
Library campaigns to raise books and money to start library services at the hospital [7].
A two-floor addition to the south side of the library building was built by W.P.A.
Sebring Branch was opened and was maintained until 1948.
First book trailer [8] acquired.
Library collected 6,851 volumes for World War II Victory Book Campaign.
Alliance joined Cleveland Regional Film Circuit to loan 16mm films [9].
Bookmobile purchased to replace Trailer unit. [10]
Library building modernization program begins.
Great Books Discussion Group [11] co-sponsored with Mount Union College.
Golden Anniversary was celebrated September 7 through September 12.
Howard B. Sohn retires after 32 years of service as director.
A. Chapman Parsons [12] named new director.
Gaylord Automatic Charging System [13] installed.
C. J. Rodman [14], Alliance industrialist, donates $250,000 towards the cost of a new library building.
Phonograph record collection started.
Fairmount Children's library opened [15].
Hazel Park [16] is purchased by library trustees as site for future library building.
Ground breaking ceremony for Rodman Public Library.
Talking Books collection begun with donation by Women's Division of the Alliance Area Chamber of Commerce.
New building, Rodman Public Library, dedicated [17] February 10.
Library designated as depository for Ohio Government documents.
Rodman Library card extended to the seven Stark County Public Libraries.
IBM data processing equipment installed [18]. This permitted the Library to process books on a contract basis for other libraries.
Harriet F. Miller [19] named Director.
Alliance Jaycee's Community Attitude Survey rated the Library highest in community favor.
First Community Christmas Tree [20] presented in Library in December.
An addition [21] to the Children's Room dedicated November 12.
Cultural series for adults began in the fall. This later developed into a Travel Series.
Extension Department begins library service to the home-bound [22].
Oral History Project started with funds received from Alliance City Council.
First microform reader-printer is acquired. [23]
The seventy year old Carnegie Library building is demolished [24].
American Bicentennial celebrations [25] at the Library include the installation of historic American flags by the American Legion, the signing of a Bicentennial album, and the receipt of a Liberty Bell replica.
First annual book sale.
Friends of the Library organized.
Summer Film Series for children sponsored by Quota Club of Alliance.
Mezzanine opened for public service [26].
Alliance Lions Club sponsored radio reading for the blind.
Circulating Art Collection [27] was initiated with gifts from the Canton Flowers Foundation and Alliance Kiwanis Club.
Videocassettes become available for borrowing.
Library acquires Apple computers [28] for public use.
Genealogical card files are added.
Library approves the use of computer reference service [29].
The use of a computerized cataloging system [30] is begun.
A new bookmobile [31] is purchased.
Library's book review series is organized.
Carnation Mall Branch is opened [32].
The Library establishes a circulating toy collection.
Library Board approves the purchase of the Library's first totally integrated online catalog system [33] from Innovative Interfaces, Inc.
Rodman Public Library goes online [34] with the new automation system.
The Alliance web site [35] including the Chamber of Commerce, City of Alliance, Alliance Community Hospital, and Rodman Public Library debuts in June.
Internet accessible computers [36] are offered to the public.
Carnation Mall Branch relocates [37] to larger facilities at the Mall.
Library begins offering library cards [38] to children of any age.
Library begins Centennial celebration.
Library replaces roof.
Alliance Memory [39] project begins.
Main Library renovation project [40] begins
Harriet Clem retires [41] after 36 years of service as director
Rodman Public Library joins SearchOhio, a consortium of Ohio public libraries for sharing materials through interlibrary loan.
The first "regularly organized systematically conducted public library" opened on September 13, 1900 in Alliance High School. The library was open from 2-5 p.m. Books could be checked out for 2 weeks and renewed for an additional 2 weeks by any resident of Alliance.
Alliance High School was originally Alliance College. The building was designed by Simeon Porter, the designer of Chapman Hall at Mount Union College. It was built in the late 1860s on East Broadway and demolished in 1910 to make room for a new high school next to the Carnegie Library building.
Andrew Carnegie donated $25,000 for the building, which required a little more than a year to construct. Dedication ceremonies were held on September 6, 1904 on the High School grounds. The new building was located on the northeast corner of South Arch Avenue and High Street.
The new building was built from light brown brick with Indiana limestone trimming, tile roof and a copper covered dome.
The dedication ceremonies were highlighted with addresses by Mount Union College President A. B. Riker, state commissioner of common schools E. A. Jones, and State Librarian C. B. Galbreath.
During its first year of operation, the library circulated 40,126 volumes to 3,150 patrons. The collection consisted of only 4,638 books.
Librarian Howard B. Sohn reached his goal of locating a branch station in the downtown business area in 1927. The branch was located at the Lawn News Stand in the Spring-Holzwarth Arcade.
The collection consisted of approximately 600 adult books with 100 children's books added later. The space was rented monthly from the arcade. Service was provided to the public by the staff of the news stand during the week with service provided by library staff on Saturday afternoons and evenings.
As shown in the photo, the booth opened directly onto the arcade where it was convenient for shoppers to stop and easily check out books.
The Arcade Station proved a very good public relations vehicle since it offered library services to many who had not used the main Carnegie facility.
In October 1927, the children's book collection was moved to the basement of the Carnegie Library in an area that had formerly housed the high school's book store.
The new facilities eliminated the overcrowded conditions of the main floor and established an area that children under the age of 14 could call their own.
The collection of magazines, books, and money for the Alliance City Hospital took place from May 12-17, 1930. Volunteers, such as these young boys from the Alliance Pioneer Club, led the collection drive on behalf of the library.
It was noted in the campaign flyer that May 12 was the birthday of Florence Nightingale.
*When the Sohn family traveled by housetrailer to the ALA Conference during the summer of 1937, Mr. Sohn visualized the transformation of the vehicle into a book trailer which could furnish library service to outlying sections of the community. Consequently, a 16 foot shell was ordered for the library from Schult Trailers, Inc. of Elkhart, Indiana. A local contractor was engaged to make wooden shelving for the book trailer.
Total expenditure for the Trailer Branch was less than $700. The necessary motive power was provided by the local Package Delivery Truck. Within the book collection of the trailer, there were "610 volumes of adult fiction, 333 volumes of adult non-fiction and foreign languages, and seventy-six picture books" for preschoolers. Since there were book collections on deposit in the city schools, the Trailer Branch did not include library materials for elementary school children. Trailer service began in 1938.
*Excerpted from Public Library Service in Alliance, Ohio: 1885 to 1956 [42] by Leah V. Agnoni.
*Starting in October of 1948, the first 16-mm films were circulated under the direction of Miss Rosanna Johnston. The library was participating in a Regional Film Project sponsored by the Cleveland Public Library with a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
The purpose of this program was to determine if medium-sized libraries could successfully loan films. During the last three months of 1948, the library circulated 390 times the fifty-one films it had received. There was an aggregate audience of 14,868 for the film showings.
[Librarian] Sohn found the film circulating endeavor a popular and useful service. When the Carnegie Corporation's support of the project ended in 1950, the Cleveland Public Library became the administrator of the Regional Film Project in which there were ten northern Ohio libraries. As a member of the organization, the Carnegie Free Library received forty or fifty films "each month for ten months of the year." Mrs. Eugene Swallen succeeded Miss Johnston in the Film Department.
*Excerpted from Public Library Service in Alliance, Ohio: 1885 to 1956 [42] by Leah V. Agnoni.
*Unquestionably, the Traveling Branch was important in making library materials accessible to those living at a distance from the Library. During a brief ceremony at the Public Square on May 27, 1949, the title and keys to a new bookmobile were presented to Mr. G. E. Graf, President of the Library Board.
The cost of the vehicle was approximately $6,739. Whereas the two-ton chassis was purchased from Sarchione and Sons; "the body and interior construction" was done by the Gerstenlager Company. There was shelving space for about 2,000 volumes on the bookmobile.
*Excerpted from Public Library Service in Alliance, Ohio: 1885 to 1956 [42] by Leah V. Agnoni.
*Between 1952 and 1955, the Great Books Discussion Group program was sponsored by the Carnegie Free Library and Mount Union College.
Enthusiastically directed by Mrs. Jack Dawson, the organization met in the Sebring Room of the college. There were two groups meeting in 1953; the original group still gathered in the Sebring Room, the newer group in the library's auditorium.
*Excerpted from Public Library Service in Alliance, Ohio: 1885 to 1956 [42] by Leah V. Agnoni.
C. J. Rodman, Alliance industrialist, donates $250,000 towards the cost of a new library building. Shown here, library board president, Gus E. Graf thanks C. J. Rodman for his gift of $250,000 to the Library Board of Trustees, December 27, 1956
Pictured are: B. Blumenstiel, Library Trustee ; Harley Ewing, Mayor of Alliance ; Gus E. Graf, President, Library Board ; G. S. Hammond, Superintendent, Alliance City Schools ; C. J. Rodman, DONOR ; H. G. Robertson, President, Alliance Board of Education ; A. Chapman Parsons, Librarian
"Automation" came to the Library with the implementation of the Gaylord Automatic Charging System. With this system, patrons were given library cards that included a raised metal plate with a number on it. The book card and the library card were placed in the charging machine where the patron's card number and the due date were stamped onto the book card. This significantly sped up the charge-out procedure.
A. Chapman Parsons began his official position as librarian of the Carnegie Free Library on July 1, 1956. Mr. Parsons was a native of Ripley, West Virginia and had previously been librarian of the Gallia County District Library at Gallipolis, Ohio. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and received a B.S. degree in education from the University of West Virginia in 1949. He received his master's degree from the Western Reserve University School of Library Science.
Library services were made available to the children who lived at the Fairmount Children's Home on April 10, 1958 through the cooperation of the Alliance Public Library and the Stark County Auxiliary to the Fairmount Children's Home.
Hazel Park, located on the southwest corner of East Broadway and Arch was selected as the location of the new library building. It was a good geographical location since it was across the street from the high school and situated near the center of the city and its population. The land was purchased from the City Council by the School Board for the sum of $1.
The new building, Rodman Public Library, was dedicated on February 10, 1963.
Some 400 persons attended the dedication ceremony which was broadcast on WFAH. Music was provided by the Alliance High School Ensemble with Clarence D. Steffy, vice-president of the Library Board of Trustees, presiding over the ceremonies. Dr. Carl C. Bracy, President of Mount Union College was the keynote speaker.
The modern era of library technology arrived with the installation of data processing equipment in the Technical Processing Department. Two staff members had been trained by IBM to operate the machines. The first operations transferred to the new computer were payroll and book processing.
Commands were keyed onto computer punch cards and then distributed according to the process. The computer increased the speed with which new books were processed allowing the staff more time to work with the public.
Pictured here, Barbara Moretti and Fred Allison put the computer through its paces.
Miss Harriet F. Miller, Head of the Extension Department, was appointed in December 1968 as acting Director after the resignation of Richard Cheski. She was officially appointed as Director in May 1969. Miss Miller was a graduate of Norton High School and Kent State University and had been a member of the Rodman Library staff since 1965.
The first Community Christmas tree program was held on December 14, 1971. The tree was a fully decorated 12 foot giant fir. The program included Christmas carols by the Alliance Music Club and a visit from Santa Claus. Decorations for the tree were provided by 40 clubs, civic organizations, and city officials representing the interests of the groups and individuals.
The dedication of the new Children's Room was scheduled to coincide with Children's Book Week. Included on the program was the Parkway School Choir and a keynote address by Trustee and Mount Union College Librarian, N. Yost Osborne.
A week of special programs followed including presentations by Brinton Turkle, Mrs. G. Otho Thompson, and Milton the Milkman.
The Homebound book service extended the Library to those who were too ill or physically unable to come to the library. Books and magazines were delivered to the homes of these persons on a pre-arranged schedule every four weeks. This service [43] is still offered by the Library.
Pictured are Mrs. Twila Kile, a resident at Ro-Ker Nursing Home with Library staff member Mrs. Robert Tillman.
The Carnegie Library building along with the old book store behind the library, the old high school and its auditorium annex were demolished after new buildings replaced them. The familiar round pillars from the front of the library were removed by William Greier, whose wrecking ball brought down the old structure, for a house that he would construct at Greier's Lake, a fishing and picnicking area near Berlin Center.
The addition of a microfilm reader-printer allowed patrons to make photocopies of a whole page or a zoomed-in section of a page from the Alliance Review. The machine could produce positive images from positive or negative film. It also included an automatic electric reel winder to speed up the scanning process.
Pictured are Reference Assistants Margaret Holfinger and Elia Badia.
"Become a Part of Local History" was the title of The Review article from which this picture comes. The album was a project of the Alliance Bicentennial Commission and was included in a time capsule that was buried in Freedom Plaza during November 1976. The Library also received a replica of the Liberty Bell from First National City Bank of Alliance as part of the Bicentennial celebration.
Ten historic American flags was donated by American Legion Post 166 and was on display in the Purcell Reading Room of the Main Library. The display was installed by Legion members William Mainwaring, Harold Hardy, James Reynolds and Robert Stauffeneger, Jr.
With a book collection that had increased from 103,235 volumes when the new building opened in 1963 to 178,000 in 1978, it became apparent that more space was needed for the Library's collection. The non-fiction collection was relocated to the mezzanine, opening the area to house more than 100,000 books.
A grant from the Albert W. and Edith V. Flowers Foundation with a matching gift from the Alliance Kiwanis Club allowed the Library to purchase a collection of 100 framed prints of classic and modern art works. The art prints can be borrowed for one month for a nominal fee.
Pictured are President of the Friends of Rodman Library, Ross Clem with Ron Tynan, chairman of the Flowers Foundation and Stewart Baxter representing the Alliance Kiwanis Club.
Two Apple computers were purchased by the Friends of Rodman Library for public use, ushering the age of free public computer access at the Library. Classes in computer use were offered at the Library in cooperation with the Alliance YWCA. The computers each had two 5.25" floppy disk drives, one had a color monitor, the other a green monochrome monitor. One printer was available for public use for a small charge. Software included educational programs, word processing, spreadsheets, and other programs.
"RON" (Rodman ONline) was the name given to the Dialog computerized information service offered at the Library. Dialog at the time offered over 200 databases of information that were accessed by reference librarians. A reference interview was conducted prior to "going online" to determine what the patron needed because of the fees involved with searching RON. The typical search cost between $5 and $10.
With the advent of CD-ROMs, a new cataloging service called BiblioFile became a cost-efficient way for smaller libraries to quickly obtain cataloging records and produce catalog cards and spine and pocket labels. Each month the Library received program updates on 5.25" floppy diskettes and database updates on CD-ROMs.
A new bookmobile was purchased in 1986 from the Gerstenslager company of Wooster. The focus of the bookmobile was now on the schools throughout the Alliance and Marlington districts. This vehicle served the library until its retirement in 2012.
The Library expanded its services with the opening of the Carnation Mall Branch which featured popular books for adults and children. Only the third in the state, a library in a shopping center [6] was not new to Alliance. It was originally located near the food court and offered shoppers a convenient location for returning items that were checked out from the Main Library or Bookmobile.
The Library's card catalogs were replaced by INNOPAC, a completely integrated online library system. In addition to titles that were already cataloged and listed in the card catalogs, the INNOPAC included access to the previously uncataloged materials in the library's collections such as paperbacks, Branch and Bookmobile collections, and on order items. 140,000 library items were barcoded in preparation.
The new INNOPAC system replaced the card catalog and the Gaylord Automatic Charging System. All patrons received new library cards that included a barcode number. The barcode number was linked to the patron's computer record allowing even faster checkouts.
New services offered with the new automation system included:
A cooperative effort among members of the Alliance Area Chamber of Commerce, Alliance Community Hospital, the City of Alliance, and Rodman Public Library with assistance from Mount Union College and Alliance City Schools created the Alliance web site. The site was created to share information about Alliance and its many non-profit organizations with users of the Internet. The web site's computer and Internet connection were provided by Rodman Public Library. Nearly 1,800 pages were viewed during the site's first full month of activity.
As the Carnation Mall Branch grew in popularity, it became clear that it had outgrown its original 1,700-square-foot location near the food court. The facility was moved to a 5,000-square-foot location near J.C. Penney. The types and numbers of materials offered were expanded as well as the Branch began to offer more videos and CDs. Two public Internet computers were added as well as a PC for web-based access to the Library's catalog. A new multi-purpose room offered a welcome place for storytime programs and increased seating allowed patrons to relax with a good book.
With the Internet and World Wide Web gaining popularity, Rodman Library purchased six new computers for public access to the Internet at the Main Library. The computers were available to any library card holder free of charge.
Children of any age, even newborns, can now have their own library cards. No one is too young to use the Library's many resources.
Pictured here, Children's Dept. Staff Member Mary Calandros hands Kristina Taylor (center) and MacKenzie Berry (right) their new library cards.
Established in 2004, the Alliance Memory [44] project is a joint venture of Rodman Public Library in Alliance, Ohio with assistance from the Alliance Historical Society, Alliance City Schools, Negro History Club, Haines House, and Copeland Oaks.
The initial offerings included historic photographs of Alliance from the Alliance Historical Society, photographs of Taylorcraft Airplanes and Morgan Engineering from collections at Rodman Public Library, oral history recordings and transcriptions from the 1960s and 1970s held by Rodman Public Library, and video interviews of World War II veterans who live at Copeland Oaks, a retirement community in nearby Sebring, Ohio.
The Alliance Memory project was funded in part through an Institute of Museum and Library Services LSTA grant awarded by the State Library of Ohio.
At a marketing committee meeting for the Chamber of Commerce, Harry Paidas had an idea that Alliance should try a community read to bring members of the city together to discuss issues of concern to all. Together with director Harriet Clem, the Alliance One Book, One Community series began with James McBride’s “The Color of Water”.
Rodman Public Library opened in 1963. Before September 2005, the only renovations had been one small addition to the children's room in 1972 and a new roof in 2002. The 42-year old building needed a facelift.
The cost of the renovations is estimated at $2.1 million and the project will last approximately until December 2006. A total of $110,000 in gifts for the project have been received from Greater Alliance Foundation, The Butler Wick Foundation, the Flowers Foundation, and the Friends of Rodman Library. The Library has committed $1.7 million for the project which had been set aside over the years.
After 36 years as director of Rodman Public Library, Harriet Clem was honored by Alliance Mayor Toni Middleton with a City Proclamation announcing January 31, 2006 "Harriet Clem Day in the City of Alliance".
Staff members and well-wishers looked on as the Mayor read the proclamation outlining her many accomplishments as Director of the Library. He also extended the Key to the City to Mrs. Clem, an honor bestowed on very few individuals.
Among the many items listed were the addition of the Children's Room in 1972, automation of the Library, the Library's presence on the World Wide Web, opening of the Carnation Mall Branch and her election as the first woman chairman of the Alliance Area Chamber of Commerce.
The most recent accomplishment was the start of the renovation project at the Main Library building.
Links:
[1] http://www.alliancememory.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p15190coll1
[2] http://rodmanlibrary.com/history
[3] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1900-library
[4] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1904-carnegie
[5] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1927-children
[6] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1927-arcade
[7] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1930-hospital
[8] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1937-trailer
[9] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1948-films
[10] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1949-bookmobile
[11] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1952-great
[12] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1956-parsons
[13] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1956-gaylord
[14] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1956-donation
[15] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1958-fairmount
[16] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1958-hazelpark
[17] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1963-dedication
[18] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1967-ibm
[19] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1969-miller
[20] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1971-tree
[21] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1972-dedication
[22] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1973-homebound
[23] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1974-readerprinter
[24] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1974-demolition
[25] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1976-bicentennial
[26] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1979-mezzanine
[27] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1980-art
[28] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1984-apple
[29] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1985-ron
[30] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1986-bibliofile
[31] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1986-bookmobile
[32] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1990-branch
[33] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1994-innopac
[34] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1995-circ
[35] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1996-website
[36] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1997-publicnet
[37] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1997-branch
[38] http://rodmanlibrary.com/1998-childcard
[39] http://rodmanlibrary.com/2004-memory
[40] http://rodmanlibrary.com/2005-renovation
[41] http://rodmanlibrary.com/2006-clem-retires
[42] http://roc.rodmanlibrary.com/search/a?SEARCH=agnoni
[43] http://rodmanlibrary.com/home-delivery
[44] http://www.alliancememory.org