Fairborn’s library opened for business in Gilbert R. Campbell’s barbershop at 2 West Main Street on April 11, 1929, with a collection of 500 books. Mr. Campbell served as the librarian for only a brief time; in June of the same year he was replaced by Mrs. Foster F. Rhodes. By 1930 the busy library had earned second place in circulation among the country’s district libraries, with a circulation of 7,571.

In 1931, the barbershop, now owned by Harvey E. Crowell, was partitioned to give the library additional space for more shelves and a reading table, and to handle the rapid increase in business. Despite these efforts, the library was compelled to find a new and larger home, in a partitioned room shared and leased from Miami Valley Publishing Company (presently Foy’s Variety Store at 16 East Main Street). In December 1933, the library once again moved, this time to Fulton’s Ford Agency, at 25 West Main Street. Three years later the nomadic library relocated into a building on Grand Avenue next to Morris Funeral Home.

Mrs. Rhodes resigned in 1937. Her successor, Mrs. Allen Heuser, stepped down in March 1942 and was replaced by Mrs. William Owens, who headed the library until February 1945. During Owens’ tenure, library hours were extended from 21 to 34, in order to meet the growing informational needs of local defense workers. Mrs. Sara Beanblossom became head librarian in February 1945 but retired in March 1946. Her successor, Mrs. Frances Jennings, stepped down in August 1946. That same year the library extended its hours of operation to 39. Mrs. Anna Shoaff was appointed as librarian in 1946 and served until 1971. **

In September 1947 the library packed its bags once again and moved into the basement of the YMCA on South Central Avenue, only to see its collection destroyed in a fire there two months later. Library service resumed in May 1948 in the basement of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. Three years later, the library moved into rooms above Rublin’s Pharmacy at 15 ½ East Main Street.

Then, in 1952, the city’s residents approved a $75,000 issue to build a new library at 412 North Maple. By the end of the 70s, the library had outgrown its Maple Avenue site and moved to its present location at 1 East Main Street, the city’s old post office. Citizens passed a bond levy in 1989 to enlarge and renovate the library. The new facility was dedicated in September 1991. The $1.75 million renovation, financed by a 23-year 0.6-mill bond issue, almost doubled the library’s space – from 7,760 to 15,000 square feet.

The library currently has 125,182 items in its collection, ranging from traditional books to CDs, DVDs, videos, CD-ROMs, books on audiocassette, books on CD, and art. It circulates approximately 30,000 items a month.

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** Librarians serving since 1971 have included: Connie Bowermeister (1971-1974); Ruth Bent (1974-1978); Patricia Harris (1978-1979); Angela Hedland (1979-1983); Marsha Wagner (1983-1998); Brenda Charny (1998-2001); and Robin Weinsten (2001-present).