GLASGOW, Ky. — Many longtime residents will remember Jennie Jean Jones, a librarian known for her strict sense of order and frequent reminders that libraries are meant to be quiet.

Those memories surfaced alongside a broader reflection Friday as the Mary Wood Weldon Memorial Library marked 110 years of service to the Barren County community, celebrating the milestone with a ribbon cutting and refreshments for attendees.

“She would scare the socks off of you,” said Mayor Henry Royse, raising his hand in a hushing gesture.

The celebration also traced a century-long evolution of a library that began with just eight readers sharing books.

According to historical accounts from the Glasgow Daily Times, the library’s roots date to June 6, 1916, when a small group of book lovers began circulating a handful of volumes out of Titus Orr’s drug store on the north side of the Glasgow Square. Membership cost $3.20, and the collection started with just eight books.

From there, the library moved repeatedly as it tried to find a permanent home.

In January 1917, it relocated alongside the Red Cross at Republic headquarters, with Laura Lauderdale serving a one-year term as librarian. By 1918, roughly 300 books had been moved again, this time to a room above Tom Dickey Grocery Store, where Bettie Bybee would begin a tenure that lasted until 1930.

“She was paid three dollars a week to keep the library open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Rent at that time was eight dollars a month,” the Glasgow Daily Times reported. “When the library did not have enough money to pay the rent T.J. Samson would help out.”

During those early years, the collection continued to grow, eventually including a full set of the Encyclopedia Britannica purchased for $60. In 1924, the library moved next door to the Third National Bank and expanded its hours to four days a week, while membership fees dropped from $3.20 to $1 a year.

By 1928, 1,100 books were moved to Liberty College, where rent was free. Though that building was later demolished, the library remained tied to the Liberty Street area as the city’s high school was later constructed nearby.

Leadership changed hands again in 1931, when Nan Duff briefly served as librarian before Mrs. Frank Richardson took over and kept the doors open through the Great Depression.

“Without her, it would have closed,” the Times reported, later calling her “the mother of the library” for her role in its survival and founding-era support.

Even as finances remained tight, the library continued to move and adapt, later operating out of a rented room on West Washington Street with help from the city council paying monthly rent.

Rose Ross served as librarian from 1937 to 1940, followed by Mrs. V.R. Jones, who remained in the role until 1968.

It was during this broader period of growth that the library became the first public institution in Glasgow to integrate, and in 1944 the $1 annual membership fee was eliminated, making it a fully free public library.

The institution eventually moved into the old armory building on Race Street before settling into a remodeled College Street property, funded by Dr. William Adair Weldon, a prominent ear, nose and throat physician whose family legacy still anchors the library’s name.

Before that gift, the Glasgow Public Library had operated out of the Terrell Building along West Washington Street.

Dr. Weldon’s connection to the library’s namesake, his mother Mary Wood Weldon, also shaped its long-term development. He donated the College Street land and building, now home to Next Step Ministries, and helped sponsor Kentucky’s first bookmobile.

A 1966 Glasgow Daily Times report noted that Dr. Weldon performed roughly 11,000 tonsillectomies during his career, including one on Jimmy Lowe, who joked that he attempted to thank the doctor while his throat was still being examined.

Lowe, now a retired Barren County High School English teacher and longtime library patron, also reflected on the institution’s place in the community as the milestone anniversary brought generations of memory into focus.

“I would like to do better than that today because here are people who have kept it going, and they need our thanks,” he said.

Today, that legacy continues through the staff who keep the Mary Wood Weldon Memorial Library running day to day.

Ami Sandell serves as director, overseeing the library’s overall operations.

Supporting her are department managers Amy Tollison (adult services), Krista Jones (youth services), Angelena Clark (circulation services), and Deloris Flowers (technical services). Outreach and community engagement are led by Lacey Mayes, who also manages the bookmobile service.

Programming and public engagement are further supported by Savannah Ortega, who leads tween and teen programming, and Lori Beth, marketing assistant. A team of library assistants: Terri Jones, Michelle Broughman, Sherri Smothers, Kaylee Turner, Tristan Solomon, Kenzley Allara, and Sam Daugherty.

Guidance and long-term stewardship also come from the library’s Board of Trustees, community members who help shape its direction and growth. Wilma Bunnell serves as interim chair, alongside Secretary Jenny Jean Downing, Treasurer Gary Somerville, and members Joan Norris and Makayle Botts Lee.

The library is located at 1530 S. Green St. in Glasgow and is currently exploring ways to expand services and renovate the facility, which originally opened on South Green Street in 2009.