Photographs of Charles W. Chesnutt and his family

This collection was a gift from Helen Chesnutt, daughter of Cleveland author Charles Wadell Chesnutt, to the Cleveland Public Library in 1970. The forty-five images include four studio photographs taken by Chesnutt Brothers photographers, (Charles’ brothers Lewis and Andrew), one by the Cleveland studio Urlin & Becker, and one portrait of Charles’ wife Susan taken by Scurlock Photographic Studio of Washington D. C. Five of the images are not original photographs, but copies made by the Scurlock studio. (The Scurlock family and the Chesnutt family both came from Fayetteville, North Carolina) Three photographs acquired from other sources have been included in this digital collection.

 

Cleveland's Neighborhood Libraries

Twenty-eight neighborhood branches are the legacy of the Cleveland Public Library's 135-year commitment to bringing books, information and service to the diverse and sprawling city of Cleveland, Ohio. This collection of photographs from the Cleveland Public Library Archives documents the history of library service in an urban community, and also provides an historical view of architecture and neighborhoods in Cleveland.

 

The Earliest Branch Libraries

Cleveland's first branch library was started in 1892, twenty-three years after the organization of the Library. William Howard Brett, Head Librarian from 1884-1918 was a strong believer in free access to books. He instituted the open shelf and started four branch libraries (in rented quarters) in the 1890's for the convenience of residents who could not easily visit the central library. The West Side Branch opened in 1892 on the second floor of a commercial building at 562 Pearl Street (West 25th Street), between Carroll and Market Streets, near the old West Side Market. Miles Park Branch opened in 1894, Woodland in 1896 and the South Side Branch in 1897. By 1897 half of the library circulation occurred in the branches.

 
A branch building program began in 1903 with a gift of $250,000 from Andrew Carnegie. From 1903 to 1914, a total of $590,000 in funding was received. The Carnegie Branches built were: Broadway, Brooklyn, Carnegie West, East 79th, Hough, Jefferson, Lorain, Miles Park, Quincy, St. Clair, South, Sterling, Superior, and Woodland. South Brooklyn, which later became part of the Cleveland Public Library, was a Carnegie Library built in 1905 by the previously independent village of South Brooklyn.

According to the 1913 Annual Report, branches were equipped with circulating, reference, and children's club and study rooms. The branches had their own collection of books, staff of librarian and assistants and were open full library hours. Smaller branches, originally called "sub-branches," had had smaller quarters, equipment and staff. They were open eight hours a day, mostly in the afternoon and evening.

Between the years 1910 and 1930, twenty branches were opened. In 1915, there were 13 branches and 12 sub-branches or smaller branches. In 1919, there were 16 larger branches and 8 smaller branches. The larger branches were: Alta, Broadway, Brooklyn, Carnegie West, East 79th, East 3rd or Public Square, Glenville, Hough, Jefferson, Lorain, Miles Park, Quincy, St. Clair, South, Sterling and Woodland. The smaller branches were: Alliance, Clark, Collinwood, Edgewater, Hiram House, South Brooklyn, Superior and Temple.

The distribution of library facilities and the needs of neighborhoods were serious considerations. In the 1917-18 Annual Report, Linda Eastman wrote that there were still some of Cleveland districts without libraries:

It is exceedingly desirable to supply these, and the several smaller branches which are occupying inadequate rented quarters, with small modern library buildings. The branch library is of great importance to the child. It is possible for older people to go farther for books; but unless the library is within walking distance of their houses, as the school is, most children cannot use it. Possibly a mile is the maximum walking distance for a child, and unfortunately there are still several populous neighborhoods which are much more than a mile from the nearest library.

Branch libraries built after World War I were much smaller than the elaborate Carnegie libraries. The smaller Carnegie libraries were built to be "convertible" to another use in case the population should move out of the neighborhood. Tragically, the beautiful Woodland branch was destroyed by fire in 1957. Four new library branches were built from 1961-1970: the new Woodland, Rockport, Walz, and Martin Luther King Junior.

A comprehensive branch building and renovation program began in 1979, which resulted in new buildings to replace inadequate rental quarters, as well as in the renovation of the historic buildings. The three newest branches are Addison Branch (1990), Memorial Nottingham Branch (1994), and Langston Hughes Branch (1998). Notable architects of the branch libraries include Edward Tilton (Carnegie West, 1910 and Sterling, 1913); Whitfield and King, 1911; South Branch, 1911; Walker and Weeks, (West Park, 1928; Collinwood, 1928; East 131st, 1929; Old Glenville, 1927); Abram Garfield (Old Hough, 1907); Joseph Ceruti (Eastman, 1980); Thomas Zung (Glenville, 1980); and Richard Fleischman (Memorial-Nottingham, 1994).

Cleveland Public Library Archives

The Cleveland Public Library Archives, containing approximately 900 linear feet of material, was organized in 1984 as a repository for materials relating to the founding and development of the Library. The Archives is the source for the branch photographs represented by this digital collection, and also includes the annual reports, blueprints, board minutes, statistics and agency records. Other types of materials in the Archives are lantern slides, photographs of Main Library, scrapbooks, audio and video recordings, summer reading club buttons, plaques, posters, post cards, book plates and brochures. There are runs of library serials such as The Open Shelf, Staff Newsletter and the Clevaland News Index.

The Library Archives is a division of the Planning and Research Department. An appointment may be scheduled for those wishing to do research.