State+Library

Governor John A. Campbell in his message to the Second Legislative Assembly, 1871, renewed his recommendation of the 1869 message for the passage of a law providing for a territorial library, and for the appointment of a librarian.
 * State Library **

The Second Territorial Legislative Assembly, 1871, passed an act which created the Territorial library, and provided for a librarian to be appointed at the then present session of the Legislative Assembly, his term of office to end on the third Tuesday of November 1873 (November 18).

On December 16, 1871, the governor, with consent of the Council appointed E. P. Johnson, of Cheyenne, the first Territorial librarian. It is evident Mr. Johnson assumed the office and tried to perform the duties, though handicapped by insufficient funds; the governor in his message to the Third Territorial Legislative Assembly, 1873, refers to the Territorial librarian's report, where he stated it had been impossible to comply with all the conditions of the law organizing the library, due to lack of funds, but all that was possible had been done.

Creation of the State Library
The State Library was created by the Second Territorial Legislative As­sembly in 1871; this law provided for a Territorial Librarian to be appointed by the Governor with consent of the legislative council for a term of two years; to have charge of all books and other property belonging to the library.

The Third Legislative Assembly, 1873, provided for the Superintendent of Public Instruction to be ex-officio Territorial Librarian; he remained so until statehood.

The Constitution provides that all Territorial laws not repugnant to the Constitution shall become State laws, and remain in force until they expire by their own limitations or be amended or repealed by the State legislature. Thereby the 1871 laws creating the Territorial Library, as amended, are still in force.

The Third State Legislature, 1897, provided for a separate maintenance for the State law library, thereby definitely separating the law library, as a separate unit of the State Library; the same legislature by another act provided for a miscellaneous library, with a separate maintenance, thereby another separate unit of the State Library was segregated; the document library, the third unit of the State Library, evolved from the nature of the contents of sections two and six of the 1871 laws creating the State Library; the State Library is a U.S. depository library for government publications; all publications which the U.S. government printing office sends to the State Library are gratis; all departmental publications of other states are either by exchange, or gratis; therefore the document library, the second most important unit of the State Library, is of little expense to the State.

By statute, 1895, the State Librarian was an ex-officio member of the Wyoming Historical Society, charged with the custody of all books, manuscripts, charts, maps, and other Wyoming historical articles, which were to be deposited in the State Library.

The Fifteenth State Legislature, 1919, established the State Historical Board, naming the State Librarian an ex-officio member; created the office of State Historian, prescribed his duties, and repealed the 1895 laws establishing the Wyoming Historical Society; this relieved the State Librarian of the duties and custody of the Wyoming Historical Society.

By the Twenty-second State Legislature, 1933, the State Librarian became ex-officio State Historian, again assuming the duties, etc. of the State Historian, acting under the direction of the State Historical Board.

The State Library was moved from the State Capitol to the new Supreme Court State Library building in March 1937.

As of 1943
In 1943, the State Librarian was the custodian of the State Library, which includes the law, document and miscellaneous libraries; was charged with proper recording and filing of books and documents, and with the general care and administration of the State Library; was ex-officio State Historian, her duties and other statutory provisions remaining the same as prescribed by the 1919 laws.

The State Librarian was required to make a biennial report to the governor on or about the first day of November immediately preceding the meeting of the State legislature. She was required, as ex-officio State Historian, to make a biennial report of the State Historical Department at the same time, one copy of each report to be filed with the Governor and one copy of each with both houses of the State legislature.

=State Librarians=
 * ~ Name ||~  ||~ Start Date ||~   ||~ End Date ||
 * E.P. Johnson ||  || December 16, 1871 ||   || November 18, 1873 ||
 * John Slaughter ||  || November 19, 1873 ||   || March 14, 1890 ||
 * Minnie Slaughter ||  || March 14, 1890 ||   || September 17, 1892 ||
 * John Slaughter ||  || September 17, 1892 ||   || February 20, 1901 ||
 * C.G. Coutant ||  || February 20, 1901 ||   || March 16, 1905 ||
 * Mrs. Clara W Bond ||  || March 16, 1905 ||   || April 18, 1913 ||
 * Frances A Davis ||  || April 18, 1913 ||   || December 15, 1917 ||
 * Agnes R Wright ||  || April 15, 1917 ||   || April 5, 1921 ||
 * Genevra Brock ||  || April 5, 1921 ||   || March 15,1923 ||
 * Flow Lachappelle ||  || March 15, 1923 ||   || April 1, 1927 ||
 * Clare E Ausherman ||  || April 21, 1927 ||   || March 25, 1933 ||
 * Ruth Harrington ||  || March 25, 1933 ||   || January 6, 1934 ||
 * Alice L. Man ||  || January 6, 1934 ||   || April 14, 1937 ||
 * Gladys F Riley ||  || March 29, 1937 ||   || March 31, 1943 ||
 * Mary A McGrath ||  || 1943 ||   || 1949 ||
 * Mary Ellen Crowley ||  || 1949 ||   || 1951 ||
 * Ereline Smith (Acting) ||  || 1951 ||   || 1951 ||
 * May Gillies ||  || 1951 ||   || 1963 ||
 * Rosemary Martin (Acting) ||  || 1963 ||   || 1963 ||
 * John Andrew Fisher ||  || 1963 ||   || 1968 ||
 * Jack M Tyler ||  || 1968 ||   || 1969 ||
 * Rosemary Martin ||  || 1969 ||   || 1970 ||
 * Willian H Wiliams ||  || 1970 ||   || 1978 ||
 * Wayne H. Johnson ||  || 1978 ||   || 1989 ||
 * Suzanne Le Barron ||  || 1990 ||   || 1993 ||
 * Helen Meadors Maul ||  || 1994 ||   || 1996 ||
 * Helen Meadors ||  || 1997 ||   || 1997 ||
 * Lesley Broughton ||  || 1998 ||   || 2015 ||
 * Jamie Markus (interim) ||  || 2015 ||   ||   ||

=Additional Resources=
 * Wyoming State Library website (accessed September 2015)
 * Wyoming State Law Library website (accessed September 2015)