Irondequoit: Where the land and waters meet.
…And where the 18th century swampland monster meets the likes of ‘wonder woman’ Pauline Evans and immediately retreats, never to be seen again.
Okay, back to reality. And let’s fast-forward to 1946.
Pauline Evans had to admit that the library was her idea. She thought it a shame that Irondequoit residents had to travel to Rochester and pay a fee for that library service. In the fall of 1946, Evans began holding meetings in her home at 531 Thomas Avenue. With the agreement of the school board, a temporary library was established the following summer at Irondequoit High School. The library consisted of books that Evans and the members of her group had collected, as well as playpens, toys, and chairs for budding readers. On August 18th, the Irondequoit Library Association was formed, elected trustees, and applied for a charter with the New York State Department of Education. By the end of summer, 3,000 books had been borrowed and 535 people had paid a visit to the library. With school quickly approaching, the library needed to find a more permanent home.
From the basement of the Lincoln Rochester Trust (Cooper & Titus) and a partitioned space inside the B. Forman Company (Culver Ridge Plaza), among several other small venues, the Irondequoit library grew out of swampland into the library branches that we know today.
In 1958, Helen Coyne McGraw became the the first professional of the Irondequoit Public Library. A Nazareth Academy and Nazareth College graduate, McGraw worked regularly with the large number of volunteers, town hall, the library board, and an architect in the construction of the two buildings in East and West Irondequoit. McGraw “was a leader among leaders of librarians,” stated Pearl Stutz, former library director, to the Irondequoit Press in 1992. With the circulation of books continuing to grow, it was clear that McGraw was not only in tune with the interests and needs of her patrons, but also had a good rapport with them. Not much fuss was given when patrons were confronted with fines, and, according to McGraw herself, circulation continued to go “up and up.”
Like the Irondequoit pioneers and truck farmers of years past, Evans and McGraw saw no resource too small and no challenge too big.
Their success wouldn’t have been possible without the community, as well. Even back in the day, the people of Irondequoit recognized the importance of the library as a place for community connection, socialization and story time for children, and for knowledge seekers and readers of all ages.
The Times-Union reported the formation of a Friends of the Library in Spring of 1963. An inaugural twenty-five members began with the purpose of raising funds for the library in order to maintain a high quality of programming and materials despite town budget cuts. Although that particular Friends group became inactive by 1971, our current Friends of the Library group was granted our Certificate of Incorporation on April of 1972 and continues to support the Irondequoit Public Library through advocacy and fundraising for special programs not covered by the library’s operating budget.
While looking through articles dating back to the late 1940s, one aspect has stood out to me the most. Although library funding and hours of operation have fluctuated over the years, one thing has stayed the same: the determination of community members to give their time, talents, resources, and financial support to their local library.
Having recently moved to Irondequoit, one of the first actions I took (after a visit to Abbott’s on the corner of East Ridge and Culver) was to join the Friends myself.
During my first visit to the Evans branch, I was immediately impressed by the first visible sign of community support that I saw: Adopt-A-Magazine!
I’m personally so happy to live in Irondequoit and to be meeting such great people. I’ll be blogging for the Friends frequently, so please stay tuned to more posts, news, and events. If you haven’t joined the Friends of Irondequoit Library and are interested in learning more, you can go to the Friends web page, download a Friends Membership Application, or contact our President Ann Ryan directly at 544-1948.
– Margaret
Published on September 2, 2011.
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