The Library Vault

& Looks Ahead to the Next Chapter

by Ramona Burkey, Director

Middletown’s Russell Library was bustling on the morning of Saturday, April 5th, as hundreds of patrons of all ages gathered to commemorate the library’s 149th birthday. With a giant birthday cake, a children’s dance party with costumed character “Bingo” from the hit children’s cartoon show Bluey, book giveaways, and demonstrations of local and family history preservation resources, staff, visitors and dignitaries celebrated the library’s past, present and future.

“It feels great to be here in the midst of such a wonderful celebration on this very special day,” said Eamonn Wisneski, President of the Russell Library Board of Trustees, as he cut the cake alongside Mayor Ben Florsheim. “I think our founder would be amazed and proud to see how far we’ve come since the late 19th century.”

The Russell Library was established in 1875 through a bequest by Mrs. Frances Russell, in memory of her late husband Samuel Russell, founder of the renowned and successful Russell & Company trading house. The Russell Library officially opened its doors to the public as a reading room on April 5, 1876, after the 3,300-book “starter collection” had at last shipped from Europe and been cataloged. At the time, the library also featured a meeting hall that could seat between 400-500 people. Borrowers had to be at least 14 years of age, and could borrow no more than one book at a time. The books were kept on shelves behind a railing, where only the librarian could fetch them upon request. Overdue fines were two cents per day (about 64 cents in today’s money). 

Like any great public library, though, the Russell Library has since evolved to meet the changing times. These days, residents can get a library card at birth, there’s no limit on the number of items a user can check out, the stacks are open, and there are no more overdue fines. And while the original collection consisted solely of books, over the course of the last fifteen decades the library has also offered reel-to-reel films, framed art, books on cassette, VHS movies, DVDs, laptops, and downloadable materials, to name just a few types of materials. 

The library facility itself has changed over the years, too: In 1930, the City of Middletown funded the construction of the Hubbard Room, which served as the children’s room until the 1970s, when the library purchased the First Federal Savings and Loan bank building next door and converted it into a free-standing children’s library. The library’s most recent major construction, 42 years ago during Ronald Reagan’s administration, added some square footage but was only intended to serve as a temporary stopgap space “until the year 2000,” at which point longer-term plans were supposed to be drawn up.

Fast-forward several decades: In recent years, the library has conducted detailed assessments of the current facility and examined the feasibility of expanding and rebuilding on the current Broad Street site. Hundreds of residents have participated in surveys and workshops around town to share their thoughts and dreams of a flexible, fully-accessible, purpose-built library that will meet Middletown’s 21st-century community needs while respecting its rich history and heritage. More information about planning for the future of the Russell Library is available at www.russelllibrary.org/future.

In 2026, the Russell Library will celebrate its sesquicentennial: a full century and a half of service to the community. The library intends to use the upcoming twelve months as a lead-up to celebrating “The Big 1-5-0.” As part of the preparations, staff will be collecting and archiving residents’ memories about the role the library has played in their lives. “Libraries transform lives,” says Eamonn Wisneski. “And I think our library is more transformational than most. Millions of people have come through our doors since we first opened, and everyone has a library story that we want to hear.”

This article was also sent to Middletown Magazine for publication.