Park City (Utah). Leisure Services. Library

In September of 1888, the Park Record announced, "Miss Lizzie Barbee has been appointed librarian for the Ladies Library Association library." Thus, the first library in Park City was born. Always a forward-thinking community, Park City opened a library before Utah achieved statehood in 1896 and before modern libraries began. To put this year into context for us, Boston Public Library allowed public access in 1854. Carnegie libraries were built primarily between 1883 and 1929. This first library was housed in the basement of the Congregational Church, which was located on upper Park Avenue, with a grand total of 327 books and was open to all who wanted to use it. At this time, Park City's population was around 5,000. Libraries use the statistic of how many books are in a collection per population. Understanding that publication rates were much lower in the 1800s, the opening collection was less than one book per person in Park City. Today's Park City library has a collection of 22 items per person.