Waverly Public Library

The Waverly Public Library, located in Waverly, Iowa, is a public library that serves Waverly and the surrounding counties of Bremer and Butler. As of April 2011, the library contains 66,790 volumes, including over 2,000 DVDs and over 1,000 CDs. The library circulates approximately 166,909 items every year.

History
In 1857, two years before Waverly was incorporated, a committee was organized for the purpose of collecting books for the public's general use. Ten years later the First Baptist Church housed the collection in their new building. The Waverly Public Free Library was created in 1868, following a lecture series which raised more than $300. This lecture series included programs featuring Clara Barton, Frederick Douglass, John Heyl Vincent, and Paul Du Chaillu. The money raised was placed in a fund for developing an actual library building. The books were next stored in the Waverly Opera House, and then moved to rooms over Broadie's Drug Store in 1901. On February 20, 1903, Andrew Carnegie, a wealthy New York philanthropist, awarded Waverly a $10,000 grant to construct a new library building. The new library was dedicated on January 1, 1905, and opened to the public for their use. At that time, the population of Waverly was 2,916 and the library owned less than 2,000 books. By 1965, the library had 7,872 registered borrowers, and the collection totaled over 30,000 books. A "wrap-around" structure was built in 1968 to accommodate the increase in patrons and materials. In 1992, the city of Waverly ordered that a study be done to consider the library's future options. It was decided that a new library building would be constructed at a different location, and so in 1998 the present building was completed.

Directors
Following is a list of the men and women who have provided leadership at the Waverly Public Library through their role as Director.


 * 1857          C.T. Smeed
 * 1878          Miss Josie Powell
 * 1879          Mrs. Thompson Hauser
 * 1881-1891     Rev. John Hodges
 * 1891-1894     Sylvia Fitzgerald
 * 1894          Anna Mills
 * 1896-1900     Mrs. Joseph Brown
 * 1901-1903     Mae Brotherton
 * 1903-1910     Mary Whitmire (died 1910)
 * 1910-1911     Dr. Vera Norton
 * 1911          Marian Grawe (interim)
 * 1911-1933     Emma L. Kenney
 * 1933-1937     Florence A. Grove
 * 1937-1954     Arlene Russell
 * 1954-1956     Rachel Agg
 * 1956-1958     Clara Johnson
 * 1958-1973     Marjorie Humby
 * 1973-1975     Steve Rogge
 * 1976          G. Shirley Duis
 * 1976          Jane Huck (interim)
 * 1976-2005     Patricia Coffie
 * 2005–present  Sarah Meyer-Reyerson

Services
Interactive videoconference rooms, wireless internet access, 18 public internet computers and computer classes are available for public use. Three Nintendo Switch's with games are available for public use as well. Children and their parents can take advantage of a summer reading program, preschool storytime, toddler storytime, and a Family Bookclub. A Teen Advisory Board exists which plans creative activities for the community's youth, including weekly game events and Friday Night Computer tournaments. An active Friends of the Waverly Public Library group is a non-profit organization that provides volunteer support and funding for library projects. These include bus trips to the library for elementary classes, books for new babies at the local hospital, books for kindergarten students, and used book and magazine sales.