The History of Thrall

information was added to this report sometime after 1923. At the
January 8, 1924 meeting of the Board of Education a resolution
was passed which stated in part: the children's room at Thrali
Library to be known as the Mary K. Van Keuren Children's Room in
recognition of her many years of service as Librarian. 56
By 1924 Thrall Library had a new head 11brarian, only the
second one in its history. Miss Helena S. LeFevre in her Annual
Report to the Board of Education, published almost in its
entirety in the Middletown Times Press of December 12, 1924,
reviewed 11brary events of the concluding year and spoke about
her vision of the future of Thrall Library. Although the words
"progressive" and "ahead of her times" are often overused Miss
LeFevre had definite long range goals for Thrall Library. While
they were not immediately acted upon, they were nevertheless
clearly heard by the city fathers.
Miss LeFevre explained that the gain in circulation in 1923
from slightly more than 74,000 to the 1924 figure 94,090 was due
to the opening of the Children's Room and the purchase of a large
number of books for children. She expressed her concern for the
condition of the adult book collection calling that collection
"depleted" and "out-of-date." She noted that a "simp11fied
charging system" was installed, all books were