Photo Provided The staff at Barnesville Hutton Memorial Library and the public celebrate 100 years of service to the community.

BARNESVILLE — Barnesville Hutton Memorial Library is celebrating 100 years of service to the community.

The library marked its milestone anniversary by opening up Sept. 23 for the public to come and enjoy what it has offered for the last 100 years, and close to 70 people attended. There were cupcakes, history displays and pictures to help the community learn about the library.

The facility also had a float in this year’s Giant Pumpkin Parade on Saturday.

“I think it’s just a very important celebration,” Director Brandi Little said. “It’s pretty special to have been around for 100 years and providing a positive impact on the community.”

Mayor Jake Hershberger wrote a proclamation honoring 100 years of service by the library.

“The library has been a beacon of knowledge and a hub for creativity,” he wrote, “providing access to a wealth of resources, literature and technology for generations.”

The proclamation ends with, “Let us join together in recognizing this significant achievement and looking ahead to a bright future filled with knowledge and inspiration.”

In 1923, the village of Barnesville began forming committees to open a public library, and the facility opened in September 1924. The library was at 112 N. Chestnut Street in one room in a building. The library then moved to the business room of the Masonic Temple on East Main Street in 1937. Finally, it moved again to 308 E. Main St. in 1968, which is where it is now.

In 1968, the new building was named the Hutton Memorial Library at the dedication of the facility. It cost $242,000, and $125,000 of the funding came from the Charles. F. Hutton estate. Twenty-seven years later, the library expanded.

The library asked for Christmas gifts from the public the year of its opening. After the library started to grow and moved locations, it held a book shower and collected 359 books.The local board of education gave 1,300 books, which is how the library began with a little over 1,600 books. Itnow has over 90,000 items, such as books, magazines and DVDs.

Little said the library has continued to grow over the years and has become an important part of the community. Technology has also changed in the library such as with Wifi, DVDs and computers. The library’s rules changed, too, as regulations were stricter back then. For example, children were not able to check out books after 3 p.m.

The library contributes free public wifi, computers, books, storytime programs for children, after-school activities and a cookbook club for adults. Every other year, the library has a Storybook Park at the Barnesville Memorial Park, which attracts around 1,000 people, Little said. The library also partners with the schools and does a lot of activities with them.

Little said they have come a long way with Kindles, iPads and phones with two apps where people can borrow and read books. The apps are called Libby app and SEO app, which stands for Southeastern Ohio library.

The library recently put new carpet in and installed a new roof a couple years ago.

Through research, Little found in 1924 during the library’s first quarter, it spent $40.90 on books, which is what it may spend on one book today. She also found the first librarian earned $25 a month in 1924.

Little said to be here for more years to come, the library will keep up with technology, provide programs for storytime children, get children interested in reading and offer whatever the public needs.

“We have a great community that uses the library,” she said. “We’re pretty fortunate for our size of community to have this large of a library and this many items, and I think by what we have to offer has made it stay here.”