Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1912-10-11
NEW LIBRARY DEDICATED
Vereennes Opens New Building
with Appropriate Exercises.

services held in the opera house which
was filled with an appreciative audi
ence Judge Frank l.. Fish presided as
chairman. Among those seated on the
stage beside those taking part in the
exercises were Mr.. and Mrs. Frederick
Frost and Mr.. and Mrs. w. Shelton
Swallow of New York city, the trustees
and their wives, the Rev. Richard G.
Woodbridge, and the Rev. S. S. Cobb.
The exercises were opened with
prayer by the Rev. George R. Brush.
Judge Fish in a short address told of
the great gift to the city by Mr.. Bixby,
the work that had been done and gave
description of the building, and intro
duced as the first speaker Congressman
Frank l.. Greene of st. Adams, who
made a short address. The speaker
deplored the fact that the state pos
sessed no History of Vermont" and
outlined plan by which through organ
lzation and labor of love such work
could be written.
Judge Fish then introduced President
John M. Thomas of Middlebury college,
as the principal speaker. President
Thomas held the close attention of his
audience in scholarly. convincing adj
dress in which he told of the things that
a library rightly managed would do for
a community.
At the close of the address Judge
Fish extended an invitation to the audi
ence to visit the library and inspect it.
At the building dedicatory prayer was
offered by the Rev. Richard G. Wood
bridge, the Rev. S. S. Cobb pronounc-
ing the benediction. Music for the
occasion was furnished by Vittum's
orchestra.
The library is the gift of William
Cove BiXby, a resident of Vergennes,
who died in 1907 The library is on
Main street in the center of the city on
high bluff commanding a fine view of
Otter creek and the Adirondack noun
tains The grounds on which the
library building stands formerly be-
longed and was the site of the residence
of Chief Justice John Pierpoint. From
the balcony on the west side a view is
afforded of the basin below the falls,
made famous as the place where, under
the supervision of Commodore Melon
ough in the winter of 1914, the fleet
was built, with which he won the
memorable naval battle near Platts-
burg, N. Y.
The building is of yellow tapestry
brick, with Indiana limestone pillars
and trimmings in white. There are
cement walks in front and driveways at
the rear. In front are five large maple
trees and later shrubs and vines will be
planted.
Running the whole length of the west
side of the building is a large porch,
from which remarkably fine view can
be obtained of the foot hills of the
Adrondacks and the high peaks of
Mount Marcy and White Face. From
here, too, at certain seasons of the
year, as the sun sinks behind the dis
tant peaks of the Adirondacks, are to
be seen sunsets that rival in beauty,
and travellers who have seen both say
surpass, the famed ones of Italy. This
porch is accessible only through the
reading room on the first floor and the
assembly room on the second floor.
The first floor contains vestibule,
a rotunda under stained glass dome,
with mosaic floor, large light reading
room with fireplace and glass door on
the porch, well lighted circular child
ren's room at the back reference,
librarian room, cataloguing room with
lavatory, public lavatory for women,
and stack room with capacity for 25, 900
books. There are also second floor of
stacks over this. The stacks are of
smooth steel with glass floors and a
small stair case running from the base
ment to the upper floor. A book lift
also runs from the basement to the top.
There is a marble stairway to the
second floor, which has gallery around
the open space under the dome.
The second floor contains an assembly
room over reading room, the trustees
room, conversation room, study room,
trustees lavatory and a relic room for
historical collections.
The staff will consist of a librarian,
one assistant, and a janitor. The arch
itect was F. S. Frost and the con-
tractor w. Shelton Swallow, both of
New York city.
Books will be free to the people of
Vergennes and surrounding towns.
Special attention will be paid to child
rem and school work Miss Frances
Hobart, the librarian, is graduate of
the Drexel Institute Library school of