Mineola Public Library

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm happy to pass it along. Now settle in, because this one starts with a teacher, a spark, and about thirty-six years of pure stubborn patience. The Mineola Public Library, later known as the Mineola Memorial Library, was established largely through the efforts of one woman: Vivian Williams Lott.

She first got the idea back in 1913, when she was working as a teacher in San Benito, down in Cameron County. She saw a public library there, and something in her said, Mineola needs one of those. The seed was planted.

Then life went on. A 1940 effort to make it happen stalled out. Just stalled.

That happens, and it had to sting. But Vivian Williams Lott was not finished. In November of 1949, the Mineola School District offered an unused room in the Mineola Junior High School for use as a library, and that was the opening she needed.

A group of local citizens gathered in Lott's home to start organizing the institution. Then came a public meeting in 1950, and Mineola Public Library was officially established. It opened in that school on May 22, 1950, with around six hundred books catalogued.

Six hundred books in an unused room, and a community that had finally decided to show up. Now, as libraries tend to do when people love them, it grew. In 1955, the library moved to the Reneau Building on South Johnson Street.

Two years later, in 1957, it moved again, this time to an empty store building on North Johnson Street. But space kept being the problem. The library needed a real home.

That's where the Judge family comes in. They were instrumental in the fundraising campaign for a new building, and part of their contribution was convincing a community leader named Harry Meredith to donate fifty thousand dollars for the project. Meredith didn't just hand over a check and walk away.

He set up the Meredith Foundation to handle that financial gift properly. Construction began on the current location in 1959, and the new building opened the following year. The library had arrived.

It grew some more after that, adding features and expanding over the years. Beyond lending books, it organized community events and offered a story reading program for young children. Then in 1979, Mineola city representatives decided to discontinue financial support of the library.

That could have been the end of it. Instead, the library changed its name, became locally funded, and the Meredith Foundation stepped in again to serve as its benefactor. That's when Mineola Public Library became Mineola Memorial Library.

One woman sees a library in a town far from home in 1913, decides her community deserves the same, weathers a stall, survives four different addresses, and builds something that's still standing and still serving. That's not just a library. That's a legacy.

What the marker says

MINEOLA PUBLIC LIBRARY (LATER MINEOLA MEMORIAL LIBRARY) WAS ESTABLISHED LARGELY THROUGH THE EFFORTS OF VIVIAN WILLIAMS LOTT. SHE BECAME INTERESTED IN OPENING A PUBLIC LIBRARY AFTER SEEING ONE WHILE WORKING AS A TEACHER IN SAN BENITO (CAMERON CO.) IN 1913. A 1940 EFFORT STALLED, BUT IN NOVEMBER 1949, THE MINEOLA SCHOOL DISTRICT OFFERED AN UNUSED ROOM IN THE MINEOLA JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL FOR USE AS A LIBRARY. A GROUP OF LOCAL CITIZENS MET IN LOTT'S HOME TO BEGIN ORGANIZING THE INSTITUTION, AND DURING A 1950 PUBLIC MEETING, MINEOLA PUBLIC LIBRARY WAS ESTABLISHED. IT OPENED IN THE SCHOOL ON MAY 22, 1950, WITH AROUND 600 BOOKS CATALOGUED. IN 1955, THE LIBRARY MOVED TO THE RENEAU BUILDING ON SOUTH JOHNSON STREET AND THEN TO AN EMPTY STORE BUILDING ON NORTH JOHNSON STREET IN 1957. HOWEVER, THE LIBRARY WOULD HAVE TO MOVE AGAIN BECAUSE OF SPACE LIMITATIONS. THE JUDGE FAMILY WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN THE FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN FOR A NEW BUILDING, INCLUDING THEIR HELP IN CONVINCING COMMUNITY LEADER HARRY MEREDITH TO DONATE $50,000 FOR THE PROJECT. HE SET UP THE MEREDITH FOUNDATION TO HANDLE THE FINANCIAL GIFT, AND CONSTRUCTION BEGAN ON THIS LOCATION IN 1959. THE NEW BUILDING OPENED THE NEXT YEAR. THE FACILITY AND LIBRARY FEATURES HAVE EXPANDED OVER THE YEARS. IN ADDITION TO LENDING BOOKS, THE LIBRARY HAS ALSO ORGANIZED COMMUNITY EVENTS AND OFFERED A STORY READING PROGRAM FOR YOUNG CHILDREN. IN 1979, MINEOLA CITY REPRESENTATIVES DECIDED TO DISCONTINUE FINANCIAL SUPPORT OF THE LIBRARY. THE INSTITUTION THEN CHANGED NAMES, BECOMING A LOCALLY-FUNDED LIBRARY WHEN THE MEREDITH FOUNDATION AGREED TO BECOME ITS BENEFACTOR. TODAY, MINEOLA MEMORIAL LIBRARY CONTINUES TO ENCOURAGE LITERACY FOR RESIDENTS OF ALL AGES IN THE COMMUNITY.