Highland Park Public Library
The Highland Park Public Library is the public library in Highland Park , Illinois . It began its service on April 7, 1888 and in 2005 reached 77% of the local population with 23,187 registered users.
history
On the basis of a petition from various citizens, the Highland Park City Council decided in its session on July 7, 1887 that a public library should be built. On September 14, 1887, it was decided that the library should be run from public funds. An annual budget of $ 260 was earmarked for this. In 1888 this library started its service. Initially, the library was housed in rooms that were also used by the council and had been rented by the council for these purposes. These premises were above a hardware store . The library initially consisted of 400 books. The employed librarian received an annual salary of $ 75. The library was initially open on Monday and Saturday. The loan period was two weeks.
In July 1889 the library moved into the newly built City Building , which also increased the space. She was housed in the offices of the town clerk. In 1891 the library finally moved into its own premises that had previously been used by the city prison. In May of this year, Mary Ann Jennings began her service as the third librarian. During her tenure, which lasted until 1913, the book inventory grew to 7,000 books. The library's first catalogs were also published under her leadership. In 1900 it became necessary to create new rooms for the growing library. The Young Men's Club House , popularly known as the Atheneum , was therefore purchased for $ 2,000 . In 1903 the Dewey decimal classification was introduced. From 1903 a new move was requested and a commission set up by the mayor, which dealt with the possibilities of erecting a new building. That commission turned to Andrew Carnegie for help. Carnegie agreed to sponsor the new construction with $ 10,000 if the construction is on City property. In 1905 Arthur C. Thomson offered the library management a piece of property. The new library building was eventually for a total cost of $ 17,893.27 by the architectural firm Patton and Miller from Chicago built. Of the $ 12,000 Carnegie cost, $ 4,361 from the sale of the former building, the city shot up $ 1,500, and library management contributed $ 32.27.
After the building was erected, the opening hours were extended to three hours each afternoon on a weekday and one evening each week. From May 1907, the librarian's vacation was granted and a substitute was employed for the period of absence. Eventually, because of the increased costs, the city grant had to be increased to $ 1,500. This also paid for an assistant's salary. In 1912 a second assistant was hired. This was connected with the conversion to a new usage system. While users originally had to fill out a slip of paper and the librarian looked for the book, users could now take out the books themselves to borrow.
Already in 1914 there were plans to buy another plot of land for expansion. The plans were abandoned because of the First World War . In 1915 the library received its first telephone connection. In 1925 a librarian was hired specifically for children's books on a half-day basis. After the head librarian retired, it was decided in 1926 that the position would only be given to university graduates. The first director trained as a librarian, Ms. Cora Hendee, took up office in 1927. At that time, the inventory comprised 16,773 books and a total of 45,676 media.
In the meantime, due to the population development of the city and the growth of the library, the question of enlargement had become urgent. In 1928, the city council decided to raise $ 150,000 over seven years for the construction of a new library building. The library building, made of limestone from Wisconsin in the neo-Gothic style, was ready for use on September 20, 1931 . In 1935, the library in its new building had 45,676 books and a total of 122,087 items in its holdings.
If the library survived the world economic crisis without any problems, there were restrictions in the wake of the Second World War . The rationing of oil in 1942 and 1943, for example, led to the closure on Mondays. In addition, there was a reduction in the number of employees, as some employees found better-paid jobs in the flourishing industry as a result of the war. Even after the end of the war, the number of employees and library holdings declined. In 1947 a group of friends of the library was founded. With the help of this circle of friends, not only could numerous new books be acquired, but also new areas of collection opened up. From 1948 onwards, sound carriers were collected and a collection of art prints began in 1965. From 1968, the Freundeskreis published a magazine on the library, The Laurels .
In 1960 a wing was added to the building, which is now known as the Children's Wing . The wing is stylistically based on the style of the main building. In 1971 the library had 104,346 books. In 1976, due to the growing stock and increasing use, another wing had to be added to the south of the original building. After Jane W. Greenfield began serving as library manager in 1987, the move to computer technology began and was completed in 1989. Extensive renovations to the library building followed in 1991, 1998 and 2000.