Roosevelt Library is one of 41 community libraries in the
Hennepin County Library System
Hennepin County Library is a public library system serving Hennepin County, Minnesota, US. The current iteration of Hennepin County Library was formed by the merger of urban Minneapolis Public Library and suburban Hennepin County Library on J ...
, originally part of the
Minneapolis Public Library System as it is located in
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
,
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, United States.
Early years
Roosevelt Library was originally built inside and named for
Roosevelt High School (named after
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
) in Minneapolis's
Standish neighborhood in 1922.
In this way, it not only served the high school students, but also the adults of the neighborhood. In the 1920s, Standish experienced a 50% population boom consisting mainly of
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
, so Roosevelt was available to them for language-learning and job-finding resources.
However, Roosevelt soon outgrew the high school as the neighborhood flourished, so in 1926 the Minneapolis Public Library purchased a package of land directly west of Roosevelt High School for $28,000. They hired
Klarquist, S.M. and Son to design the new library building. The architectural firm did so, designing a brick and wood building in the
Tudor Revival
Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...
style. The building was modeled after the original
East Lake Community Library
East Lake Library is one of 41 branch libraries in the Hennepin County Library System, one of 15 branch libraries formerly in the Minneapolis Public Library System in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Three different buildings have housed ...
, also a Minneapolis library, although Roosevelt had a small amount of front yard space where East Lake did not.
On February 15, 1927, Roosevelt opened to the community at 4026 28th Avenue South.
Upon opening the library's hours were 10a.m. – 9p.m., Monday–Friday and 10a.m. – 1p.m. on Saturdays. This quote from Theodore Roosevelt was included in Community Bookshelf article on the library, “After the church and the school, the free public library is the most effective influence for good in America.” It went on to state, “We hope we may justify this statement in this new neighborhood, and that the people will use our equipment freely for their enjoyment and education.” The opening day staff were: Ada N. Whiting, Librarian; Eleanor Heimark, First Assistant; Volborg Sobba, Assistant; Lessley Chilson, Assistant; Wallace Petri, Page; Mina Jacobsen, Janitress.
Later years
Roosevelt was open five or six days a week for most of the 20th century. Depending on library funding, it was sometimes open on Saturday and other times closed then. Fluctuations in neighborhood population and the changing demographics of the community also contributed to library usage and open hours.
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, librarians at Roosevelt held special story times for the children of the area, many of whom had mothers in the workforce and fathers fighting in the
European
European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...
or
Pacific Theater. This helped the children take their minds off the war, and also helped curb rising
juvenile delinquency rates in the Standish neighborhood.
Throughout the rest of the 20th century, Roosevelt's hours and users remained steady. The library in 1962 decided to experiment with purchasing paperback books for teens. Roosevelt was selected as the pilot location for the paperback project because of its proximity to a high school. In 1973 the building gained a parking lot and air conditioning.
Outlook 2010 options
Roosevelt was small by 1999, as many of the other Minneapolis Public Libraries were . or greater. It also lacked a public meeting room and failed to comply with the
Americans with Disabilities Act. Voters chose to support the 2000 referendum which gave money to libraries for capital improvements. In a plan drafted July, 1999 called
Outlook 2010, there were four options for Roosevelt.
Option A
Option A had Roosevelt combining with the nearby
Nokomis Community Library
Nokomis Library, formerly Nokomis Community Library, is a branch library serving the Nokomis East area of Minneapolis, Minnesota. One of 41 libraries in the Hennepin County Library system, Nokomis was designed by Buetow and Associates, Inc and ...
at an undecided location. The new building would have been . and both Roosevelt and Nokomis would close. This plan was no longer feasible when Nokomis underwent capital improvements of its own.
Option B
Option B included Roosevelt moving to a larger building by itself while keeping Nokomis at its current location or moving it separately. In this plan, the new building would be .
Option C
Option C called for major capital improvements to the original Roosevelt building, such as the addition of ramps to make it
wheelchair
A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...
accessible and the replacement of the furnace and water heater.
Option D
Option D proposed expanding Roosevelt by . along with complying it to the Americans with Disabilities Act and expanding the library's collection greatly.
None of the Outlook 2010 plans were undertaken although what eventually was done by Hennepin County Library is sort of a combination of Options C and D. In 1997 the building was recognized as a local historic landmark and on 26 May 2000 Roosevelt was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
which meaning it could not be destroyed or greatly altered using
federal aid
A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...
without a public hearing.
Outlook 2010 aftermath
In 2002 a new mixed used library (close to option B) at 38th Street and 23rd Avenue was endorsed by the neighborhood advisory team but uncertain economic conditions shelved that project. More plans for renovations were made in 2005 but those were also shelved due to economics.
Closure, reopening and renovation
Due to funding cuts in the early 2000s, Roosevelt closed on all but three days per week. This continued until 2006 when funding cuts became even more drastic. On 29 December 2006 Roosevelt and two other Minneapolis libraries closed amid outcry from patrons and neighbors.
During 2007, Minneapolis Public Library drew nearer to the merger with Hennepin County Library, who promised to reopen Roosevelt when and if the merger was approved. It was, and on 3 January 2008 Roosevelt was reopened (three days per week), now as part of the Hennepin County Library System.
It closed for renovation in 2012. Roosevelt Library reopened on June 1, 2013 with a new meeting room and completely revitalized interior and mechanical systems. The new library features more public computers, including iPads for patron use within the building, a refreshed collection, a new multi-purpose room, and increased operational efficiencies with one customer service point.
References
{{National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
Hennepin County Library
Libraries on the National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota
Library buildings completed in 1927
Minneapolis Public Library
National Register of Historic Places in Minneapolis
Buildings and structures in Minneapolis