The history of school libraries in Richland County School District One goes back to as early as 1883 when D. B. Johnson was Superintendent of Columbia Schools. The Columbia school district had a female school, a male school, and a Black school (Howard school). Mr. Johnson collected more than 300 volumes as the foundation of a central school library. Two years later he said of the library: "It is a cherished plan of mine that it shall eventually expand into a free, circulating library for the whole city." (annual report 1884-85).
When Mr. Johnson became president of Winthrop College in Rock Hill in 1895 and left the district, a committee report stated that "A Library of some sixteen hundred volumes has been established and modern equipment for instruction provided."
School libraries continued to grow in succeeding administrations. Major events in the development of Richland One libraries are detailed below.
| 1895-1918 | The Administration of E. S. Dreher |
| 1918-1928 | The Administration of W. H. Hand |
| 1928-1951 | The Administration of A. C. Flora |
| 1952-present | Rapid Growth of School Libraries/Media Centers |
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Richland County School District One
This page created by Donna Teuber
Updated January 17, 2000.
Copyright 2000 by the
Board
of Trustees of the University of South Carolina