History of the Palatine Public Library

            The Palatine Public Library began in 1920, when Boy Scout Troop One gathered just over 500 books, comprised of what residents could spare from their own shelves. Room was found for the books in the Joel Wood School on Wood Street. This proved so successful that Scoutmaster George Herrmann decided that the library should go public. In May 1923, enough funds were pledged to rent a one-room store front in what was known as the old Matthei block on North Bothwell Street. Miss Lottie Hart agreed to be the librarian. The first Library open house was held September 8, 1923. Four days later, 64 borrowers registered. The first borrower was Miss Margaret Schering when she checked out “Our National Parks.”

On May 5, 1924, residents were asked to vote for the upcoming referendum and help establish a library district that would “levy a tax of one and eight tenths mills for library purposes.” The vote carried by a small majority. That same year, the first Library Trustees were elected

            In January 1947, the library moved to larger quarters at 55 West Wood Street and in 1949 it became necessary to establish new hours. The Library would now be open Wednesday through Saturday, 3 – 5:30 p.m. and 7 – 9 p.m. Mrs. Nordal Thompson became assistant librarian. Ms. Hart retired in 1950 and Mrs. W. A. Muller, who held a degree in Library Science from the University of Illinois, became the new librarian. Under her direction, staff and volunteers took inventory, made a shelf list, and began to catalogue the collection. This same year, the Friends of the Library was formed, offering much support for the Library.

            Always eager to participate in community projects, the Library assisted Dr. Noble J. Puffer, then Cook County Superintendent of Schools, in helping to upgrade the reading skills of rural children. The first “bookmobile” was formed. This consisted of a trailer pulled by Dr. Noble’s personal car, equipped with a stove, shelves, books, a desk, and a shelf list. This innovation began in 1936 and continued through 1941, when gas rationing made it impractical.

            Responding to increasing demands on library services, the Library moved to rooms on the first floor of the Masonic Building at One North Plum Grove Road in September 1951. At this time, the staff increased by four, a clerk and 3 pages. In 1956, there were 3,000 borrowers on file, 7,277 volumes, with circulation of 29,150.

A bond issue referendum was overwhelmingly successful, and in February 1957, the library bought the property at 149 North Brockway Street and moved in. The new hours for the Library were Monday through Friday, 1 –8 p.m. and Saturday, 1 – 5 p.m.

The developing needs of the community influenced the goals and direction of the Library. Miss Charlotte Bryan, the third librarian, supplemented the Library’s collection by borrowing from the State Library bookmobile, which made weekly visits to the Palatine Library. A children’s room was opened on December 26, 1962. In May 1963, 6,000 village borrowers were on record and 400 non-resident families.

Arthur Curley, the next librarian, encouraged the Library’s membership in the North Suburban Library System. In 1966 the tax rate of 20 mills made it possible to begin building the collection, which doubled by 1968.

The years passed, and in November 1973, a building referendum passed allowing the purchase of the 32,000-square-foot building at 500 North Benton Street. A lower level childrens’ area was completed, services were expanded, and the book and audio-visual collections grew.

            A referendum for conversion to a public library district passed in September 1974. The 1975 annual report listed the statistics as 18,245 borrowers, 66,257 volumes, and an annual circulation of 203,785.

Palatine Public Library moved again in December 1993, to the current 96,000-square-foot building at 700 N. North Court. As of November 2001, there are almost 300,000 items in the print collection and over 37,000 items in the audio-visual collection. Annual circulation statistics are over 1.5 million items and there are over 85,000 registered patrons. In addition to the Main Library, the Library District also operates the Freeman Road Branch in Hoffman Estates, which just celebrated its 20^th anniversary, the Rand Road Branch in Palatine, which opened its doors in the year 2000, and the Bookmobile, which started service to schools and apartment buildings in 1999. The Library offers computer use for the public, meeting rooms, and youth and adult programming. But this is not the end of the story…..as the community grows and changes, so will the Library, aiming to be a substantial center for the community.

 

This information was gathered from Mary F. Davis’s “The Story of the Library”, written in 1975.