The William "Bill" Kibler Memorial Library is an all-volunteer organization serving Stanley and the surrounding Page County community. Formerly part of the Massanutten Regional Library, the library was closed in 2010 by the regional chain for financial reasons. The Town of Stanley then formed a library board with the intention of reopening a public library. The reopening effort required many hours of dedicated volunteer labor and tens of thousands of dollars in donations. Just seven months later, in April 2011, the Kibler Memorial Library was officially opened and dedicated in honor of Mr. Bill Kibler, who generously bequeathed his entire estate to the Town of Stanley to open, operate, and maintain a library in our local community.

Please read the stories of Mr. Bill Kibler and our founding director, Ms. Beth Good, below.

Born September 20, 1911 near the start of the 20th century, William Sumpter Kibler was destined to live into the 21st century and to record much of his life in a unique daily journal.

​That journal essentially tells the story of how a highly intelligent and well-educated man viewed the world, mostly the environs of the small town of Stanley but extending to many parts of the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia through his many travels. Along the way, Mr. Kibler collected thousands of books, photographs, color slides, artworks, and other materials.

Mr. Kibler's parents, Rufus F. Kibler and Julia Shuter Kibler Koontz, were well-known Page County residents at the time of Stanley's founding in the early 1900s.

Bill Kibler in his later years.

Bill, as he was known to his family and many friends and associates, attended Stanley Elementary School and graduated from Stanley High School in 1928. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia in 1932. He started postgraduate studies at Harvard University and, after some years of teaching, received a master's degree at the famed Ivy League institution in 1951.

His first teaching assignment in the 1930s was in a one-room school-house in Cubbage Hollow. He taught seven years at Shenandoah High School before serving two years as a principal at Grove Hill Elementary School. In 1943, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He earned a medal for his overseas service during World War II’s famous Battle of the Bulge.

Bill worked for the Armed Forces Security Agency during the Korean War, intercepting and translating messages. An English teacher at Florida Southern College for three years, he completed his teaching career with six years at Columbia Preparatory School in Washington, DC.

He was the author of two books, and he became an avid world traveler from the 1960s onward.

​Bill Kibler wrote his last journal entry on April 16, 2002. He died on June 3 of the same year at age 90. He bequeathed his entire estate to the town of Stanley to establish a small library. The generosity of this gift is recognized in the name of the Kibler Memorial Library, which stands at 140 East Main Street in Stanley.

Beth Good (1958-2018)
Founding Director, Kibler Library

Beth Good was Kibler Library’s founding director and one whom we can credit much of the success we enjoy today. Beginning in 2011, just after Stanley Library was closed by the Massanutten Regional Library, Beth did most of the administrative heavy lifting required to ready the library to re-open as the independent, all-volunteer organization.

A fierce soul with a dedicated work ethic all her life, Beth excelled academically and vocationally. She was a member of the National Honor Society at Page County High School, graduating at the top of her class. Later, Beth worked her way up through the ranks of ARA-Virginia Skyline (later, Aramark), eventually becoming general manager for lodging in Shenandoah National Park.

All her life, Beth was a voracious reader, devouring books with incredible speed and retention. So, when she retired, Beth was more than happy to take up the cause of turning the recently closed Stanley Library into the Kibler Library. She ordered and accessioned new books, created and set up the checkout system, and generally got the newly opened library in prime working order. Never one for loving the spotlight, Beth nevertheless worked tirelessly – and we do mean tirelessly, as was her custom – behind the scenes, overseeing not just the new library’s setup but also its administration, events, and immensely popular fundraising dinners.

Kibler Library owes much, indeed its very existence, to Beth Good. We are eternally grateful for her excellent founding direction and meticulous but gentle guidance.

Beth passed away in 2018 after a hard-fought battle with cancer. If you visit the library, be sure to visit the Beth Good Memorial Reading Room and enjoy the beautiful stained-glass window placed there in her honor.