About Us
Our History
The Parke County Public Library, originally the Rockville Public Library, was an idea born by the “The Current Literature Club” at a meeting in January of 1913. After research, it was decided the best way to move forward was the Carnegie Plan; with a clear title to the building site and a deed recorded, the Carnegie Building Association would provide funds to build a library (Parke County Times, 1914). After raising funds to secure the levy and the library board appointed, the site where the library sits today was purchased for $2500 in March of 1914, the old site of Boardman’s Livery Barn (Parke County Historical Society, 1989). The donation from the Carnegie Corporation was initially $10,000 but raised to $12,500. The groundbreaking was June 7th, 1915, and the Library was completed by the end of the year and dedicated on January 14th, 1916 (Rockville Tribune, 1931).
In 1991, in celebration of the library’s 75th anniversary, a 2,700-square-foot addition was added to the back of the original Carnegie Library building. Ramps for added accessibility and an elevator lift were also added (Parke County Sentinel, 1991). This addition nearly doubled the size of the library.
In December of 2012, the library did return to county-wide service, following years of debate on the topic (Bemis, 2012). During the early 1940’s, the WPA provided books and workers to man stations in each township of Parke County. Petitions were filed with a levy of $.04 per every $100 of taxable property to expand service to county-wide. (Rockville Republican, 1941). In 1952, legislative action forced libraries to reorganize or become extinct. Rockville Public Library was to operate as a town library for 1 year and then revisit. County-wide service did not resume until 2012. All residents within Parke County can have access to a free library.
Due to structural issues and crumbling limestone, the library’s front steps had to be repaired. These repairs were completed in 2014. The original columns for the stairs were removed and slight changes were made to the appearance of the front entry.
In 2018, to better represent the community in which the library served, the Rockville Public Library changed its name to the Parke County Public Library. In addition, the library joined the Evergreen Indiana Library Consortium around this same time. Benefits offered by being a part of Evergreen Indiana Library Consortium; library cardholders have access to 120+ libraries throughout the state in person and/or access to materials, materials from other libraries will be delivered to PCPL and available for pickup, materials can be returned to any Evergreen Library, and much more! We wanted our patrons to have better access and more convenience!
- 1913
- The Parke County Public Library (originally the Rockville Public Library) was an idea born at “The Current Literature Club” meeting in January 1913.
- 1914
- The Carnegie Building Association would provide funds to build a library and in March of 1914, the old site of Boardman’s Livery Barn was purchased for 2500.
- 1915
- Groundbreaking of the site occurred on June 7th, 1915.
- 1916
- Construction of the library was completed by the end of the year and dedicated on January 14th, 1916.
- 1991
- The library turns 75 and a 2,700 square feet addition was added to the back of the original Carnegie Library building.
- 2012
- In December of 2012, the library returned to county-wide service and all residents within Parke County would now have access to a free library.
- 2014
- Repairs of structural issues and crumbling limestone to the library’s front steps were completed in 2014, which slightly changed the appearance of the front entry.
- 2018
- To better represent the community in which the library serves, the Rockville Public Library changed its name to the Parke County Public Library. In addition, the library joined the Evergreen Indiana Library Consortium around this same time to provide access to even more resources for the library.
