Hennepin County Library
Hennepin County Library is a library system serving the entire population of Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA. The Minneapolis Public Library, a separate system for Minneapolis, existed from its founding by T. B. Walker in 1885 until January 2008. The system currently has 41 branch locations, deposit collections at nursing homes and correctional facilities, mail service to the homebound and extensive outreach services. The Library is a department of Hennepin County Government. The library headquarters are in the Ridgedale Library in Minnetonka.[1] The library system is governed by an eleven-member Library Board appointed by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners.
The HCL started in 1922 as a horse-drawn "bookmobile" to areas outside the core city of Minneapolis. The system saw a large increase in use in the period between 1950 and 1980 as more people moved into suburban areas of the county. In the early 1970s plans were in place to merge the Minneapolis Public Library with the HCL, however the Minneapolis library system reconsidered and merger plans were put on hold.[2] Ultimately the two library systems reached an agreement and the merger was finalized on January 1, 2008 under the name of Hennepin County Library.[3]
Branch Libraries
Minneapolis
Suburban Hennepin County
- Augsburg Park Library (Richfield)
- Brookdale Library (Brooklyn Center)
- Brooklyn Park Library
- Champlin Library
- Eden Prairie Library
- Edina Library
- Excelsior Library
- Golden Valley Library
- Hopkins Library
- Long Lake Library
- Maple Grove Library
- Maple Plain Library
- Minnetonka Library
- Osseo Library
- Oxboro Library (Bloomington)
- Penn Lake Library (Bloomington)
- Plymouth Library
- Ridgedale Library (Minnetonka)
- Rockford Road Library (Crystal)
- Rogers Library
- Southdale Library (Edina)
- St. Anthony Library
- St. Bonafacius Library
- St. Louis Park Library
- Wayzata Library
- Westonka Library (Mound)
City Locations
HCL directors
- Gratia Countryman 1922-1925
- Ethel Berry 1925-1947
- Helen Young 1947-1969
- Robert H. Rohlf 1969-1994
- Charles M. Brown 1994-2004
- Amy Ryan 2005-2008
- Lois Langer Thompson 2009-
References
- ^ "About Hennepin County Library." Hennepin County Library. Retrieved on March 24, 2010. "Hennepin County Library launched in 1922; its headquarters are at Ridgedale Library in Minnetonka, Minn."
- ^ History of Hennepin County Library, [1], p. 17
- ^ "Library Merger Updates." Hennepin County Library. Retrieved on October 4, 2010. "[...]allowing the merger to take place Jan. 1, 2008."
External links