BY Angela Johnson and Lisa Gothelf
It started as a dream 50 years ago this month, back when you still signed a little paper card to check out a library book, the first portable computer was the size of a suitcase, and the internet was still just a baby. Today, that dream has become the Five Rivers Public Library in Parsons, a lively community hub in a modern facility with a wide range of books, magazines, audiobooks and e-readers, along with an impressive array of popular programs and services throughout the year.
It all began in April 1973, when the Parsons City Council appointed five library board members (H. Dale Ridgeway, Francis “Fritz” Wagner, Mrs. Mary Shiflet, Edward McDonald, and Stanley Hehle) and asked them to secure a site for a new library.
The following April, after much hard work and determination, a ground breaking took place for the new 1200-square-foot “carousel” library on the corner of Third and Walnut Street in Parson. The new library was named Five Rivers Public Library after Tucker County’s five rivers: Cheat, Black Fork, Shavers Fork, Dry Fork, and Blackwater.
The distinctive, eight-sided, 1,200-square-foot building, which suggests the fun of a carousel, was part of the West Virginia Library Commission’s “instant” library program, which placed small, prefabricated library buildings in select rural communities with limited access to library services.
The Commission encouraged communities to find sites and secure annual funding, in return providing the building, furnishings, library materials, professional assistance, and state funding to help support operations. By 1996, there were 39 instant libraries across West Virginia.
The Parsons building, the state’s second instant library after one in Logan County, was completed in July 1974 and officially opened in September. Helen Gilmore was the first director, overseeing an initial inventory of 10,000 books. Jane Leard was director from 1991 until 1993, when the current director, Nancy Moore, assumed the role.
In 1984, a building fund was established, adding an additional 850-square feet to the back of the existing carousel and expanding the total footage of the library to 2,050 square feet.
Sadly, only five short months after opening in November, 1985, the devastating flood of Parsons inundated the library with more than six feet of water, leaving only three books and a few pieces of furniture salvageable. Volunteers, the Library Board, and staff pulled together to clean up. After an incredible amount of hard work during an extremely difficult period in the county’s history, the library was once again back open for use.
In October 2011, Five Rivers added an additional 1600 square feet, including an ADA-accessible meeting room.
Today, Five Rivers Public Library is grown to meet the vision of its organizers 50 years ago. It provides a range of services, including Pre-School Story Time Class/Toddler time (starting in the fall through the spring), teen programs, the Summer Reading Program for children (up to 5th grade), VITA (free tax assistance for the public), wireless internet access, internet access computers, online data bases, DVDs, audio books, exchange books, Kindle Paperwhites, inter-library loans, meeting/conference room available for public use, movie days, craft sessions, faxes, copies, laminating, Accu-cut, and more.
Five Rivers Public Library will celebrate its 50th Anniversary by hosting an open house and reception for the public on Sunday, September 8, 2024, from 2-4 p.m. at the library. Come and meet the staff and see what the library has to offer!