OKAY, you can’t really meet Mr. Dewey at the Osterhout Free Library, but you could have one day…a long time ago. Let’s just start at the beginning. The Osterhout Free Library opened its doors to the public 122 years ago today: January 29, 1889! The day before, a dedication ceremony was held. The guest speaker was none other than Melvil Dewey himself (who was hired as an advisor as the library was being organized). So he was here in Wilkes-Barre, it was on his recommendation that the building be purchased, he was a colleague of our first librarian. Though you can’t meet him in person, you’ve probably already “met” him another way.
Even if you don’t recognize the man by name, generations of library users have used the Dewey Decimal System he created, with each item having its own call number, giving order to the way books (and everything else) are shelved and making them easy to find once you know how it works. It’s how you (or a librarian) locate the books at the Osterhout after finding them in the catalog.
So here in 2011, we mark the anniversary of the library’s beginning with another beginning: a blog dedicated to all aspects of the library, what we do and what we offer. We hope you will check back frequently (Subscribe! Bookmark us!) for timely updates, event information, recommended titles, listings of new DVDs, light-hearted content, and many other items of interest!
Learn more about the Dewey Decimal System. In the 21st century it’s not just for books: see how websites can be organized by call number!
The Window Seat 