Shorewood-Troy Public Library

The Shorewood-Troy Public Library serves the village of Shorewood, Illinois and its surrounding areas. The library is located at 650 Deerwood Drive near the intersection of US Route 52 and IL Route 59.

Library Statistics

2006 Information
Population Served: 15,401
Circulation: 90,351
Total Visits: 123,464

History

On Monday, November 17, 1975, the Shorewood-Troy Township Library opened its doors to residents of Shorewood. The original building was a storefront in the Shorewood Plaza on US Route 52, containing over 2,000 books, magazines, cassettes, and records. [“New Library will Open in October.” "Herald News". August 29, 1975.] Originally part of the Burr Oak Library System, residents had been using the Burr Oak bookmobile as their library service since 1972. [ “Bookmobile Service to Troy to End by April 1.” "The Plainfield Enterprise". March 6, 1974.] Originally labeled as a “demonstration library”, the storefront library operated under federal grants for several years. [“Troy Township Residents Given Information on Demonstration Library.” "Herald News". February 23, 1976. p. 13.] In May of 1976 the Shorewood-Troy Library District was formed, after a referendum passed establishing a library board and new tax rates. [“‘We’re Being Used’…a Happy Thought.” "Herald News". February 6, 1977.] By 1980, the community of Shorewood was out-growing its small storefront library, so the search for a new site had begun. In June of 1984, a library construction grant was awarded to the district in the amount of $250,000. Land was donated just north of the Shorewood Plaza by George and William Michas and Chris Dragatsis for the new building. [“Building Grant Bound for Shorewood Library.” "Herald News". June 11, 1984.] The official ground-breaking of the new 15,000 square foot facility was August 16, 1984. [“Shovels Turned for New Library.” "Herald News". August 17, 1984.] The following year the Shorewood-Troy Public Library opened to the public. In 1992-1993, a lower level of the library was completed to house the Youth Services Department and a meeting room.

Notes

External Links

Shorewood-Troy Public Library: http://www.shorewood.lib.il.us Village of Shorewood: http://www.vil.shorewood.il.us Illinois State Library: http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/library/home.html