A. Chapman Parsons began his official position as librarian of the Carnegie Free Library on July 1, 1956. Mr. Parsons was a native of Ripley, West Virginia and had previously been librarian of the Gallia County District Library at Gallipolis, Ohio. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and received a B.S. degree in education from the University of West Virginia in 1949. He received his master's degree from the Western Reserve University School of Library Science.