Orland Park Public Library

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The Orland Park Public Library serves the residents of Orland Park, Illinois. Orland Park is a southwest suburb of Chicago. Currently the library services approximately 57,000 residents. The library currently has 180,000 items available and circulates 625,000 items yearly. The library is located at 14921 Ravinia Avenue, Orland Park, IL 60462.

[edit] History

The Orland park Public Library was founded in 1937 by the Orland Park Women's club. Funding for the library was provided in part by the Library Extension of the Works Progress Administration. A Mr. Ray Loebe donated the Purple Candle Building for use.

In 1941 the Village Board of Orland Park passed an ordinance establishing a public library operated by volunteers. Donations of books were taken to help fill library shelves. In 1943 a referendum was passed allowing taxes to be levied for library operation.

In 1975 A gift from The Andrew Corporation allowed for construction of a new 7,000 square foot building. On November 14, 1976 the new building was dedicated under the name Aileen S. Andrew memorial. In 1980 another gift was received from Andrew corporation. This expansion was completed in August of 1983. The total size of the building was now 18,500 square feet.

In 2002, the Board of Trustees placed on the ballot a referendum to build a new facility to be located on 149th and Ravinia Avenue, replacing the current facility. The referendum passed with two-thirds of the votes in favor of the proposed building. Michael Barnes, an architect from Lohan Anderson, designed the 93,000 square foot building and W.E. O'Neil was chosen as the General Contractor. The new facility officially opened on September 12, 2004 and has won numerous awards for its building design.