3/24/2023 0 Comments Chicago public library![]() ![]() Daley made branch libraries a priority and supported a special bond measure to rebuild them. ![]() Its completion signaled a renewed emphasis on public service. Following strong support from Mayor Harold Washington, the new central library was built on the corner of Congress Parkway and State Street and was named in his honor. In the meantime, the library's board debated plans for the new site while the budget, staff, and hours were cut and circulation dropped. The rest of the collections, however, remained without a central building until 1991. In 1977, the refurbished building reopened as Chicago's Cultural Center, also housing the library's new special collections unit. What caught the public's attention and dominated it for the next two decades, however, were the needed renovations to the library's central building. During Roden's tenure as librarian (1918–1950), the branch library system grew by 50 percent and circulation reached stunning heights, though expenditures and book purchases were low in the wake of theĭuring the three decades after 1950 the public library remained limited by its financial resources.īy 1969, 59 branch libraries were in operation, but they were overburdened. The ideals of progressive reformers soon returned the library to its mission of service, exemplified in librarian Henry Legler's 1916 proposal, “A Library Plan for the Whole City.” The plan, which called for an extensive network of neighborhood libraries and regional districts, was carried out by Legler's assistant, Carl Roden. ![]() At the same time, politicians drastically cut the budget for acquisitions and neighborhood services. In 1897, the new main branch opened in an opulent structure in theĪs well as the books were meant to influence and uplift patrons. The three libraries agreed to divide the areas of study among them-the humanities to the Newberry, the sciences to Crerar, and popular collections to the public library. This corresponded with Chicago's larger cultural renaissance, which included the creation of the In the 1890s the library's priorities shifted from service to uplift. By 1909, two-thirds of the circulation took place through deposit stations. The board's mandate was to provide service to the “common man.” The first librarian, William Poole, concentrated on building up the library's collections and on public access via delivery stations throughout the city. These efforts reached fruition in 1872, when the city organized a board under the Illinois Library Act. In fact, efforts had been underway before that to augment private libraries with a public institution. According to legend, the Chicago Public Library began with the donation of books by British citizens after the ![]()
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