Rock Island Public Library - Rock Island Public Library 1872-1901

Rock Island Public Library 1872-1901

In 1872 the Illinois State Legislature created a law that allowed city councils to create public libraries, by giving city councils the power to tax citizens for public library funding. Soon after the law was signed into law the Rock Island City Council was quick to implement the new tax, and the Rock Island Public Library opened its door on November 25, 1872 with Miss Gale as the head librarian. The new library's received their supplies and books from the collection own by the Young Men’s Literary Association, whom served as fee-based public library from 1865-1971. The library was located in the same rooms at the second floor of the Mitchell & Lynde Building on Eagle Street (now the location of the First of America Bank) that the Rock Island City Library and Reading Room Association was housed during it existence from 1855-1859. The library board decided that for all citizens to be able to use the library is had to be open seven days a week, since many people only had Sundays off. By the end of the first two weeks the library was opened over 1,000 books had been checked out and the library board decided to rent another room to increase space for new books and additional reading room for patrons.

Over the next ten years the library would continue to have budget and space problems. By 1891 Miss Gale, by the request of the citizens had organized the books by subject (history, travel, poetry and fiction) and alphabetical order within their subject. To raise money for more books at the library, Miss Gale sold copies of the books catalog for $.15 a piece. In 1899 the library had 14,866 books in their collection, 1,070 of them children's books. The Rock Island Public Library had out grown their three rooms at the Mitchell & Lynde Building and the library board started to look for land and financing to build a new library to support the library's collection of books and the growing population of Rock Island readers. On April 3, 1900 the library board purchased a lot for the new library and on January 10, 1901 the board chose to the design plans for an Ionic building finished in Italian Renaissance Architecture.