Library truly collects history of community

The Rankin Library isn't technically a library because it doesn't get any tax money.

But thanks to donations and a lot of dedication from community members, the Rankin Library manages to provide the town's citizens with books and a place to gather.

It's also become the town's center of history. It houses trophies and yearbooks from the old Rankin high school.

Rankin High class reunions stop by the library to look at records from their high school days.

"No one knew what to do with it, so they gave it to us," Overbery said.

The library also houses tubs of documents and scrapbooks from now-defunct civic clubs and memorabilia from Rankin's days as a railroad town. Overbey said some library patrons seek genealogy records as well.

And the library's building itself is a piece of Rankin history.

When Rankin's depot closed, the town moved it to Main Street in 1972. Rankin established its town hall in the building and allowed half for a library.

However, access to the library was by appointment only, Overbey said.

"No one sat there regularly," she said.

But the Rankin Women's Club changed that in the early 1990s. They decided to renovate the library, fill it with new books and hire a librarian.

Today, the library is open for a few hours on Monday and Wednesday evenings and on Saturday mornings, said librarian Doris Hofbauer.

The library is funded by a couple dinners, donations from the Rankin Lion's Club and businesses. It has a computer and tries to stock its shelves with large-print bestsellers for older citizens. It also boasts children's books, so Rankin children can read books that qualify for a reading program away from school.

Some older residents gather at the library for coffee hour on Wednesday mornings. Overbey said the event sometimes attracts almost 20 women, with the occasional male stopping by to search for his wife.

"It's a place that's open to for the community," Overbey said. "We still fill the tables."

Contents of this site are © Copyright 2008 The News-Gazette, Inc. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of use | Contact Us