St. Paul Public Library system

Infobox_nrhp | name =St. Paul Public/James J. Hill Reference Library
nrhp_type =


caption =Saint Paul Central Library
location=80-90 4th Street West Saint Paul, Minnesota
lat_degrees = 44 | lat_minutes = 56 | lat_seconds = 38 | lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 93 | long_minutes = 5 | long_seconds = 48 | long_direction = W
area =
built =1917
architect= Litchfield,Electus D.; Soule,Charles C.
architecture= Renaissance, Other
added = September 11, 1975
governing_body = Local
refnum=75001017 cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2006-03-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service] The Saint Paul Public Library is a library system serving the residents of Saint Paul, Minnesota, in the United States. The library system includes a Central Library, twelve branch locations, and a bookmobile.

The Saint Paul Public Library traces its beginnings to 1856 when the newly formed Young Men's Christian Association opened a reading room."St. Paul Public Library: Many Happy Returns", "St. Paul Pioneer Press", September 29, 2002] The following year, both the Saint Paul Library Association and the Mercantile Library Association also were organized. These early efforts all merged in 1863 into the Saint Paul Library Association.

In 1879, under the leadership of Alexander Ramsey, the Library Association proposed that the City accept responsibility for their collections and establish it as a free public library. Finally, on September 7, 1882, the city council approved an appropriation of $5,000 to establish the Saint Paul Public Library. By this date, the collection had grown to include 8,051 books.

In the following years, the Library grew rapidly. As early as 1890, there were calls for the construction of a new building. Instead, in 1900, the Library moved to the old Market Hall, located on Seventh Street. Many civic leaders continued to push for the construction of a new building, but the Library remained in the Market Hall until a fire in 1915 destroyed the entire building, including the Library and most of its collection of 158,000 books. At the time of the fire, construction of the new Central Library was already underway.

Planning for the new Central Library had occurred well before the 1915 fire. Under the leadership of Mayor Lawler in 1909, serious work began on building a new Library. A site was chosen on Rice Park, and in 1910, the Library board began discussing how to raise the $500,000 it was estimated the new building would cost.

By 1912, railroad baron James J. Hill had offered to contribute $700,000 specifically for the construction and endowment of a reference library attached to the public library. Almost simultaneously, $100,000 toward the project was raised through a subscription campaign, $30,000 was received through a bequest from Greenleaf Clark, and the state legislature authorized the sale of $600,000 in bonds for the construction of the new facility. By the fall of 1912, the Library board had hired Charles Soule, a Boston library consultant, to assist in planning the new facility. ["Video Documentary Tells Central Library Story", "St. Paul Pioneer Press", September 29, 2002] Ground was broken for Central Library in 1914. Ultimately, the entire building, including the [http://www.jjhill.org Hill Reference Library] , was erected at a cost of approximately $1.5 million.

The Central Library opened in 1917. In that same year, three Carnegie library branches opened -- Arlington Hills Library, Riverview Branch Library, and Saint Anthony Park. All four buildings are still in operation as libraries. The Central Library has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975.

Expansion of the Saint Paul Public Library continued in 1930, when the Hamline and Merriam Park branch libraries opened. Both branches were made possible by a bequest from the estate of Henry Hale.Baker, A. "New library balances elegance, beauty while meeting a budget", "St. Paul Pioneer Press", April 7. 1993]

In 1945, the [http://www.thefriends.org Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library] was formed to encourage and stimulate use and support of the library.

The 1950s saw 3 more branches open: Rice Street in 1952,Osterheldt, J. "The Little Library That Could: at last, North End gets its new branch", "St. Paul Pioneer Press", March 5, 2002] Highland Park in 1954, and Hayden Heights in 1955.

In 1970, the Sun Ray branch library was opened.

In 1993, the new Merriam Park library opened.

The Central Library closed in October 2000 to undergo a $16 million renovation project. [Rybin, V. "Chapter and verse on library's closing: most collections will remain available for St. Paul patrons", "St. Paul Pioneer Press", October 21, 2000] The library re-opened on October 5, 2002. [Allam, H. "Back in the stacks: book lovers flocked by the hundreds to the grand reopening of the renovated St. Paul Central Library", "St. Paul Pioneer Press", October 6, 2002]

In 2002, the new Rice Street library opened.

In 2004, the Dayton's Bluff branch opened in the new Library and Learning Center of Metropolitan State University. [Pattison, K. "Library quickly fills a void: new facility serving Metropolitan State and Dayton's Bluff community." "St. Paul Pioneer Press", October 9, 2004]

In 2006, the Rondo Community Outreach Library opened in a mixed-use facility including 98 housing units. [Orrick, D. "Neighbors joyfully check out new library: Rondo's opening carries promise of neighborhood's revitalization", "St. Paul Pioneer Press", September 10, 2006]

In 2008, a child was allegedly molested by someone reportedly viewing Internet pornography at the Riverview branch. [http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7211428&version=3&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1]

External links

* [http://www.sppl.org Saint Paul Public Library]
* [http://www.ci.stpaul.mn.us City of Saint Paul]
* [http://www.sppl.org/125/bookmobile.html Bookmobile History and Photo Album]
* [http://www.sppl.org/125/hamlinemidway.html Hamline Midway Branch Library History and Photo Album]
* [http://www.sppl.org/125/haydenheights.html Hayden Heights Branch Library History and Photo Album]
* [http://www.sppl.org/125/saintanthony.html Saint Anthony Park Branch Library History and Photo Album]
* [http://www.sppl.org/125/sunray.html Sun Ray Branch Library History and Photo Album]

References