05/28/2026
Thanks for sharing the Library's history Steele County Historical Society
We have quite a collection of the Betsy and Tacy books in our Children's department; stop by the Library to check them out!
𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐊𝐧𝐨𝐰?
Maud Van Buren (1869 – 1959) graduated from Pratt Institute Library School in Brooklyn, New York, and was hired as the Owatonna Public Library’s third librarian in 1902.
Van Buren introduced innovated services, including services to those outside the city. The Owatonna Public Library was the first to offer county-wide services in the state. The Art Room was completed in 1903 and was used to show exhibits. It was considered a model for libraries across the state. Van Buren served as president of Minnesota Library Association.
Even though she was known throughout Minnesota as "one of the most industrious and efficient librarians in the state,” the Library Board did not renew her contract in 1906, for unknown reasons. Citizens protested at a public meeting and more than 600 residents signed petitions to retain her, but she gracefully accepted the Board’s decision.
Van Buren moved on to the new Mankato Library, where she eventually became immortalized in the Betsy-Tacy series by Maud Hart Lovelace. Fourteen years later, the Owatonna Library Board asked her to return—and she did.
