Storied Ground
The Defiance Public Library
In the heart of the City of Defiance, Ohio, the Defiance Public Library stands at the western edge of Old Fort Defiance Park, overlooking the confluence of the Maumee and Auglaize Rivers. Now listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the architecturally distinctive Defiance Public Library has been a beloved fixture of the Defiance community since its opening in 1905. It is also one of over a hundred public libraries in Ohio that were built with funds provided by a grant from the wealthy Gilded Age industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who was a fervent believer in the necessity of public libraries to an informed American citizenry. Though he is a controversial figure today, Carnegie’s philanthropy – which by 1917 had funded the building of over 1600 public libraries across America – was foundational to the development of the renowned public library system we enjoy today in the United States. In this episode of Storied Ground, we’re paying a visit to the Defiance Public Library to discover what the unique history and architecture of one Carnegie library in a rural Northwest Ohio community can tell us about the wider legacy of Carnegie libraries in America, with guests Dr. Abigail Van Slyck, Dayton Professor Emeritus of Art History at Connecticut College; Cara Potter, Director of the Defiance Public Library System; Taryn Lawson, Communications Coordinator at the Defiance Public Library System; and Mike McCann, Mayor of the City of Defiance.
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Meet Your Host Nick Pavlik
Nick Pavlik is an archivist and public historian who is passionate about engaging with communities to document, preserve, and share local and regional histories. Since 2015, he has served as the Manuscripts and Digital Initiatives Archivist at Bowling Green State University’s Center for Archival Collections (CAC), where he oversees the development and management of the CAC’s Northwest Ohio manuscript collections and coordinates a variety projects utilizing digital technologies to preserve and provide access to the CAC’s unique and renowned collections. He has also been steadily working to advance the CAC’s priority of ensuring a more inclusive and representative historical record of Northwest Ohio through community partnerships, oral history projects, and digital exhibits highlighting underrepresented or little-known aspects of our region’s remarkable history. Outside his role at the CAC, Nick also works independently as a public historian, and is particularly interested in pursuing collaborative community projects that showcase the power of local history in fostering a unique sense of place, deepening our connection to our everyday environments, and uniting communities in a shared past that bridges social and political divides. He is grateful for the opportunity to pursue this work through the Storied Ground podcast.