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In 1890, Cleveland Public Library was the first large metropolitan library in the nation to adopt the “open shelf plan.” Prior to this innovation, only library employees could retrieve books stored in closed stacks. Allowing patrons the freedom to select books directly from library shelves was soon embraced by libraries throughout the nation. William Howard Brett, Cleveland’s chief librarian from 1884 to 1918, worked to build a permanent Main Library that embodied this concept of direct access. The new library would be part of Daniel Burnham’s Group Plan of Public Buildings. After Brett was tragically killed by a drunk driver, the Library Board — led by lawyer John Griswold White — appointed Linda Anne Eastman as the library’s fourth chief librarian. (Continued on other side)
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The Bay Village Chapter of the League of Women Voters was established in Spring 1948, with Dorothy M. Austin as president. The goal of the chapter was to ensure all citizens of Bay Village had the information they needed to cast an educated vote. They first met in the Cahoon family homestead, which then served as the city library and later as Rose Hill Museum. Gladys H. Luecke led the group on its first study, a city charter form of government for the village. Voters approved the charter on April 12, 1949, and the Village of Bay officially became the “City of Bay Village” in 1951. Since its founding, the Bay Village Chapter has made an educated voter its first priority by supporting citizen participation in government and influencing public policy through education and advocacy.