Brief History
About Our Library
Our library has changed with the times. We started with books, records, magazines, newspapers, vertical files, film strips, and transparencies, among other things. Almost everything was print based. If you wanted to learn about the Congo, you started with an encyclopedia and moved on to books, magazines, and newspapers. If you needed more information, you could go to the County library in Ukiah, or if you were really lucky, your teacher would take you on a field trip to the Sonoma County Library in Santa Rosa. There they had more books and information from newspapers on microfiche.
When I started in 1981, that was how things were done. At that time our library was just one room and my tools were simple, a typewriter, date stamp, glue, tape, pencils, and pens. Times have changed and with it my tools have evolved, as has the library. But, the biggest change is students are able to access the outside world via the web. The computer lab that was added has changed the way students work. This wonderful addition was brought about by a grant that Donna Pierson Pugh, Will Ross, and Ryan Spott wrote. The building of the library computer lab was mostly done by our technical person, Ryan Spott. What a wonderful commodity for an isolated community such as ours.
Books are the heart of the library, and over the years we have received grants and donations that have kept us current. Many people helped with the grant writing, and we have had several people give donations. When Edwina Morehouse Knivila died in 2001, her family requested that memorial donations be made to the AVHS Library, and a few years ago Robert Mailer Anderson gave us $10,000 to purchase more books. Thanks to these generous people, we have been able to keep the love of reading alive.
Written By Wendy Emal, Librarian
