Erie County Library’s Origin Story
The City of Erie School District boasts the establishment of the Erie Free Public Library as its greatest achievement from the years of 1895 to 1910. The erection of the Public Library building on South Park Row established an outstanding library system for the residents of Erie. The activity of the then Erie School Board was instrumental in drawing up a proposed legislative act to give Pennsylvania School Boards the power to establish free public libraries and were the pioneers and leaders of that movement for the entirety of the Commonwealth. The Erie City School Board was also the very first to act in Pennsylvania under the Free
Library Act of 1895.
The basic philosophy which motivated the Erie School Board in the 1890’s to seek out the establishment of a free public library as a permanent fixture in the City of Erie was to provide a free common school education to the children and citizens of Erie.
Then Superintendent Missimer said this about a Free Public Library is this Gem City:
“A free public library is to give all the children, regardless of wealth, family, or position, the
opportunity through reading, the intellectual and moral power which will make them citizens whose
influence will be of value to the community in which they live, and persons of weight in that
government.
“Bread-winning necessity forces children out of school and
reduces the period of school attendance to a minimum. The
opportunity for a broader education must therefore come
after school. The public library offers that opportunity to the
children of this generation and coming generations.
“Erie may justly claim that she has taken a great step in advance in the cause of free public
education.”
The City of Erie and the Erie School Board were pioneers in establishing a free public library for the entirety of the community and were a catalyst for other communities to follow suit.
Keep Our Library Public! 