Anne Hinton Opened World Of Books To Huron Readers

Anne Hinton’s title for the past 23 years has been director of the Huron Public Library. But in that time, she’s worn many hats – among them overseeing construction of the new building at 333 Williams St. and transforming the tri-level structure into a bright, welcoming collection of rooms and spaces. Now, as she leaves her post, she looks back at all of the accomplishments that have occurred.

The addition nearly tripled the size of the library, going from 12,000 square feet to 36,000. She and the staff have brought the small-town library into the computer age, opening up new horizons to readers of all ages. There were 43,977 titles on the shelves in 1988; by last year it had grown to 56,880.

“We’ve added all different types of media down through the year, with cassettes, books on tape, books on CDs, movies and videos,” Hinton said. 

The Huron Library isn’t just a place to go in and get a book – thanks to the hard work and diligence of all the staff it’s become the community center that Huron doesn’t have.
Somewhat of a computer wizard herself, one of Anne’s proudest accomplishments was joining the local library with the Clevnet system – “opening up the rest of the world of literature to Huron readers.”

“We had a collection of 50,000 books at that point, and now we have access to 2.5 million,” she said proudly. “And we’ve gone from four to 27 internet-accessible computers for patrons.”

There was one computer in the building when Anne came to work there in 1988. An Apple, it was used to create catalog cards.

Cathy Buckingham, former president of the library board, feels that "Anne's vision and contribution has been significant in creating a modern day library that is a lasting gift to the Huron community.

"She has been an advocate of both the taxpayer and the library patron, leading our library and providing quality services through periods of growth and also times of great fiscal restraint," she said.

There are activities and community meetings going on non-stop throughout the year at the library and it also houses the huge collection of artifacts belonging to the Huron Historical Society.
Seeing many middle-school children coming over from McCormick School in the afternoons, with nothing but homework to occupy them for the several hours until their parents got off work, Hinton and the staff created the Huron Youth Connection, a program that is now part of the Boys and Girls Club of Erie County. It offers opportunities for socializing, help with homework, craft projects and snacks after school.

While she will have more time to spend with husband, Gary, and her granddaughters, Sara, 6 and Jayna, 3 ½, as well as creating pieces of glass artwork, Anne’s not going far from the books. She’s already teaching a class in information literacy at Ohio Business College.