The Kalamazoo Public Library is an independent district

library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, that serves about 120,000 people, has a salaried staff of 90, and spends about $10 million annually. The library consists of the central branch downtown, and four branch libraries.

History

Kalamazoo Public Library was founded in 1893. The building was designed in the Romanesque Revival style, with several wings and towers filled with windows to capture natural light. Ulysses Wheaton built the structure, which stood for 65 years. In 1958, construction began on a new building inspired by

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

’s ''

Villa Savoye Villa Savoye () is a modernist villa and gatelodge in Poissy, on the outskirts of Paris. It was designed by the Swiss- French architect Le Corbusier and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret, and built between 1928 and 1931 using reinforced concrete.Courla ...

,'' a two-story, 1930s-era building near

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, whose second level seems to float on columns surrounding a recessed ground floor. Designed by Louis C. Kingscott, Inc., and built by the Miller-Davis Company, the building opened in 1959, and combined the library and a museum. In 1998, a new 4-story library building opened, which stands today at 315 South Rose Street in downtown Kalamazoo.

Branches

* Oshtemo - located on the west side of Kalamazoo, in Oshtemo Township. The building is the second largest branch, and features most of the features available at the Central branch. The building's architecture is designed in such a way to allude to a castle. ''"The whimsical new building arose like a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

village around a castle. Designed to appeal to children and the young at heart, it features colorful, basic geometric forms."'' Prior to discontinuation in 2010, the Oshtemo branch also housed the bookmobile. * Eastwood - located on the east side of Kalamazoo, in Kalamazoo Township. The original east side library was opened in 1912. In 1996, the Eastwood branch took its current form when a new building was constructed. * Alma-Powell - located on the north side of Kalamazoo. In May 1968 an anonymous gift of $10,000 was received by the Kalamazoo Board of Education for the purpose of establishing a library in the poorest section of town. The library has been in many locations since, but currently is located within the Douglass Community Centre. * Washington Square - for more than 75 years, the branch has been a welcomed and welcoming fixture of the Edison Neighborhood.

Services and technology

In addition to traditional book lending and reference books, patrons of the library enjoy access to * Access to language learning programs * Booktoberfest. * County Law Library * Digital media lending (e-books, audiobooks) * Local History Room * Magazines and newspapers * Movie lending * Music lending * ONEplace - a management support center for

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

s * Programming ** Adult programming ** Children's programming (baby through teen) * "Reading Together" - annual community reading event * Idea Lab - a digital media lab * Bookmobile service, which began in 1956, was discontinued March 31, 2010. The Kalamazoo Public Library is technology friendly. All of the catalog data are computer based. The library also offers computers for use by patrons for finding books, accessing the internet, playing games, and word processing. The library also offers computer training classes for those who are not familiar with the internet, computer, software, or digital media use. The library provides a free

WiFi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves ...

network for patrons who bring their own

laptop A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...

or other device to the

. Digital titles (including

e-book An ebook (short for electronic book), also known as an e-book or eBook, is a book publication made available in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, readable on the flat-panel display of computers or other electronic devices. Alt ...

s and

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

s) are available for check-out through the library website (at the library or remotely). In 2014, the library opened the 'Idea Lab', formerly known as 'The Hub', which is a digital media lab open to the public for digitizing photos and video, producing

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...

s, preserving old vinyl records, cassettes and VHS tapes, and other services.

Awards

* Named "Library of the Year" in 2002 by Thompson-Gale /

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

. ''"The Library of the Year Award honors the library that most profoundly demonstrates outstanding community service."'' * State Librarian's "Citation of Excellence Award", 2012, for superior customer service, including an initiative to provide 1000 library cards to

Kalamazoo Promise The Kalamazoo Promise is a pledge by a group of anonymous donors to pay up to 100 percent of tuition at many Michigan colleges and universities for graduates of the Kalamazoo Public Schools school district of Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Kalamazoo Pro ...

area eligible first grade students.

References

External links

* {{authority control Library buildings completed in 1959 Library buildings completed in 1998 Public libraries in Michigan Buildings and structures in Kalamazoo, Michigan Education in Kalamazoo, Michigan 1893 establishments in Michigan