Olivia Raney Library
The Olivia Raney Memorial Library was the first public library in Wake County, North Carolina, named after an American church organist and choral singer.[1][2]
Namesake
[edit]
Olivia Raney, née Cowper, moved to Raleigh, North Carolina at age 10. She lived in the Five Points neighborhood, and on McDowell Street between Edenton and Hillsborough.[1] She was known as an accomplished musician, and served as the organist for Christ Episcopal Church.
As a young woman, she maintained a friendship and correspondence with businessman Richard Beverly Raney, an insurance agent who became the president of the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. Olivia was in her early thirties when she married Mr. Raney.[3]
The couple had been married for about a year and a half, and Olivia was expecting her first child when she died suddenly, on May 4, 1896.[3] A local headline read, "One of Raleigh’s Most Cultured and Beloved Women Passes Away."[4]
History
[edit]Her husband founded the Olivia Raney Memorial Library in her memory, which was chartered in 1899. It was built on the southwest corner of Hillsboro and Salisbury streets, accessible by foot or street car lines.[5] Jennie Coffin, a close friend of Olivia Raney, became the first librarian.[6][7]
Formally opening in 1901,[2] the Olivia Raney Library was the city's first public library.[8] It was a three-story building with an ornate entrance and a red tile roof designed to keep the reading room cool during the long summer days before air conditioning.[3] An auditorium occupied the top floor, where the stage curtain featured an image of the Taj Mahal. Although the building had electric lights, the high cost of electricity meant the librarian closely monitored their use.[3] There were 4,000 books on the shelves and 32,000 books circulated in its first year.[6] In 1931, the yearly circulation was 217,000 books from a collection of about 25,000 books.[6] The library remained open until 1962 and was demolished in 1966.[3] It reopened in 1963[9] at Fayetteville Street Mall and Morgan Street[10] until closing again in 1985.[8] In 1996, it reopened to the public in the Wake County Office Park[10] as the Olivia Raney Local History Library.[11]
As a woman of her time, Olivia’s personal life is largely absent from the public domain, yet her legacy lives on in the ideals of a free and public library.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Pattison, Kate (2009-05-06). "The Olivia Raney Library, Raleigh's first". Raleigh Public Record. Archived from the original on 2014-08-10. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
- ^ a b "The Olivia Raney Library: The City Accepts the Splendid Gift of the $40,000 Library". Vol. XLIX, no. 119. The News & Observer. 1901-01-25. p. 1.
- ^ a b c d e Rawlins, Wade (1995-08-06). "Olivia's Legacy". The News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. p. E1.
- ^ Sanders, Leigh (2014-03-30). "Olivia Raney". Women of Library History. Retrieved 2014-08-08.
- ^ "The Olivia Raney Public Library". The Farmer and Mechanic. 1900-10-30.
- ^ a b c Perkinson, Charlotte S. (1932-11-13). "Celebrates Twenty-Fifth Anniversary in Library". The News & Observer. p. 8.
- ^ "The Olivia Raney Library". North Carolina State University. Archived from the original on August 9, 2014.
- ^ a b "Olivia Raney Local History Library Renovations". Wake County Government. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
- ^ "Library's New Home Will Be Dedicated". The News & Observer. 1963-01-03. p. 24.
- ^ a b Jones, Treva (1996-07-22). "Raney library brings Wake County history back under one roof". The News & Observer. p. B1. ProQuest 402683155.
- ^ "Olivia Raney Local History Library". Wake County Government. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
- ^ womenoflibraryhistory. "Olivia Raney". Women of Library History. Retrieved 2024-09-12.