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History
| 1833 - 1969 | 1969 - 1974 | 1974 - 1976 | 1976 - Present |
Increasing Township Government Commitment...
The Township
Supervisors had continually been involved in the library, but in the spring of
1976, their support reached an all-important high. They announced their
intentions to expand the municipal building, including the design of a new
library. The new facility would mean approximately four times the present
space. The growth of the library had become a shared responsibility
between the township government, the Friends, and the public.
Again, the Friends of the Library were prepared to begin a donor drive for office equipment, furniture, and shelving for the new library. The goal was set at $25,000 by the Friends.The Chamber of Commerce and the Woman's Club were enlisted to help supervise the Donor Drive. Luminaria became the Woman's Club traditional fund raiser for the library. Another change was presented to the new library system, a new librarian was hired in April, 1977. At this time, the library had to vacate its present building and move again, temporarily, to Morgan School until the new facility was complete. Volunteers accomplished the move. A new position was added to the library staff for a part-time clerk in the fall of 1977, library service had expanded so rapidly.
On the Move...In January, 1978, the South Park Township Library, under the auspices of the Township, moved to its present location at 2575 Brownsville Road. Without the volunteer services offered by the community, the move would not have been accomplished as quickly and easily. The organizational relationship between the Township government and the library was also altered. The Township assumed direct responsibility for the employment of a full-time professional librarian and a part-time clerk. The librarian was still dependent on volunteers to man the library depending on the amount of hours opened. The Library Board became an official council under the State Library Code and is directly responsible for the activities of the library. Three more staff positions were added to the library through the acceptance of a CETA Grant.
The Friends of the Library were overjoyed with the prospect of a new library building and succeeded in raising the money for the Donor Drive to furnish the library. They continue to this day to provide the library with Story Times, Craft Classes, Fund-raising projects and volunteers to support the library in conjunction with the objectives created by the founders of this organization.
Library Renovations and the Present...
In 2005, the South Park Township Library began renovating the interior of the building. During the renovation process, the library added many new features including an audio visual section filled with DVD's and CD's, additional public computer stations, a children's
storytime area, a reading area complete with a fireplace and several other features
to give the library's interior a new look. The Library finished
its interior renovations in February 2007.
In May 2009, the Library created a brand new section near the front desk, which became known as "The Bestseller's Collection." This collection included books, books on CD, certain DVD's, and a growing Blu-Ray movie collection.
During this time, technological improvements continued to take place at the Library, most notably the addition of a wireless network, which enabled patrons to access the Internet through their own laptops. The wireless network would also allow patrons to print things off of their computers starting in November 2010.
In 2011, a small but growing collection of downloadable borrowed materials including e-Books and Audiobooks became available to library patrons at the Overdrive website.
It truly is a bright future at the South Park Township Library! Come check us out!
| 1833 - 1969 | 1969 - 1974 | 1974 - 1976 | 1976 - Present |
