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Kenosha Public Library
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Kenosha Public Library
The Kenosha Public Library (KPL) is the public library serving the city of Kenosha, United States. It is the resource library for the Kenosha County Library System (KCLS), of which it is a member.
The KPL is governed by a board of trustees appointed by the mayor of Kenosha and approved by the city council. The board is composed of nine citizen members: eight City of Kenosha residents and one representative of the Kenosha Unified School District. KPL is a member of the SHARE Consortium.
The library has an outreach department and five branches:
The library offers audiobook, e-book, and eMagazine services, including OverDrive eBooks & eAudiobooks, TeachingBooks Library, Ebsco eBooks, and online tutoring, via the library's website.
In November 1841, only months after the village of Southport (Kenosha from 1850) was incorporated, an editor of the village newspaper, the South Port American, proposed establishing a free public library "open to all". Private circulating libraries were established by June 1842. On November 25, 1843, a group of prominent residents attempted to establish a public library, forming the Southport Library Association. The association's members included William Bullen, a founder of Southport, and Frederick Winslow Hatch, the Episcopal rector of St. Matthew's Church and former Chaplain of the United States Senate. Chaired by Hatch, the association elected directors and adopted bylaws, but made no further progress.
In February 1871, Zalmon G. Simmons, a local businessman and future Kenosha mayor, purchased several hundred books and established a free library for Kenosha County residents; as Simmons was a member of the local Unitarian church, he established the library there. Books could be checked out one at a time for two weeks, with a single renewal allowed. In June 1873, Simmons proposed a library be erected "to surpass any other in the state" in what would become Library Park. On May 22, 1883, a special election resulted in a vote for Kenosha to accept an approximately $3,500 bequest from the estate of a Caroline Field, intended to establish the "Cahoon Public Library." Subsequent legal difficulties delayed the city in moving forward; a court ruling in March 1890 gave the city permission to accept the bequest, which it did not.
Upon arriving in Kenosha in 1894, George W. Johnston, the recently appointed editor of the Kenosha Evening News, soon recognized local demand for a public library, and promoted the cause through the newspaper. He also canvassed local community leaders. With their support assured, on the evening of November 14, 1895, 40 prominent local residents assembled to initiate the process of establishing a public library board. At the meeting, a five-member organizing committee was nominated and elected, comprising Johnston and businessmen Colonel William W. Strong, James Cavanagh, George A. Yule, and John O'Donnell. On December 20, the committee formally incorporated the Kenosha Public Library. The constitution and bylaws included a provision that any county resident "of good repute," was eligible to join the library association upon agreeing to the terms of membership and payment of annual dues of $2.00; the fee was intended for purchasing books and covering other expenses.
On January 6, 1896, the library board was established, electing its officers on January 10. On January 17, Johnston, the board secretary, recommended the library be situated in a room over the Redeker and English store, in a building owned by Zalmon Simmons at 171 Main Street. The suggestion was accepted and the room leased from Simmons. On January 27, Clara Parkinson Barnes (1854–1932), a sister-in-law of board member Cavanagh, was elected librarian by the board. The library was largely ready by March 2, when the Unitarian Church free library donated its collection of approximately 800 volumes, encouraged by wide community support and a donation of $1,000 to the new library from George Yule.
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Kenosha Public Library
The Kenosha Public Library (KPL) is the public library serving the city of Kenosha, United States. It is the resource library for the Kenosha County Library System (KCLS), of which it is a member.
The KPL is governed by a board of trustees appointed by the mayor of Kenosha and approved by the city council. The board is composed of nine citizen members: eight City of Kenosha residents and one representative of the Kenosha Unified School District. KPL is a member of the SHARE Consortium.
The library has an outreach department and five branches:
The library offers audiobook, e-book, and eMagazine services, including OverDrive eBooks & eAudiobooks, TeachingBooks Library, Ebsco eBooks, and online tutoring, via the library's website.
In November 1841, only months after the village of Southport (Kenosha from 1850) was incorporated, an editor of the village newspaper, the South Port American, proposed establishing a free public library "open to all". Private circulating libraries were established by June 1842. On November 25, 1843, a group of prominent residents attempted to establish a public library, forming the Southport Library Association. The association's members included William Bullen, a founder of Southport, and Frederick Winslow Hatch, the Episcopal rector of St. Matthew's Church and former Chaplain of the United States Senate. Chaired by Hatch, the association elected directors and adopted bylaws, but made no further progress.
In February 1871, Zalmon G. Simmons, a local businessman and future Kenosha mayor, purchased several hundred books and established a free library for Kenosha County residents; as Simmons was a member of the local Unitarian church, he established the library there. Books could be checked out one at a time for two weeks, with a single renewal allowed. In June 1873, Simmons proposed a library be erected "to surpass any other in the state" in what would become Library Park. On May 22, 1883, a special election resulted in a vote for Kenosha to accept an approximately $3,500 bequest from the estate of a Caroline Field, intended to establish the "Cahoon Public Library." Subsequent legal difficulties delayed the city in moving forward; a court ruling in March 1890 gave the city permission to accept the bequest, which it did not.
Upon arriving in Kenosha in 1894, George W. Johnston, the recently appointed editor of the Kenosha Evening News, soon recognized local demand for a public library, and promoted the cause through the newspaper. He also canvassed local community leaders. With their support assured, on the evening of November 14, 1895, 40 prominent local residents assembled to initiate the process of establishing a public library board. At the meeting, a five-member organizing committee was nominated and elected, comprising Johnston and businessmen Colonel William W. Strong, James Cavanagh, George A. Yule, and John O'Donnell. On December 20, the committee formally incorporated the Kenosha Public Library. The constitution and bylaws included a provision that any county resident "of good repute," was eligible to join the library association upon agreeing to the terms of membership and payment of annual dues of $2.00; the fee was intended for purchasing books and covering other expenses.
On January 6, 1896, the library board was established, electing its officers on January 10. On January 17, Johnston, the board secretary, recommended the library be situated in a room over the Redeker and English store, in a building owned by Zalmon Simmons at 171 Main Street. The suggestion was accepted and the room leased from Simmons. On January 27, Clara Parkinson Barnes (1854–1932), a sister-in-law of board member Cavanagh, was elected librarian by the board. The library was largely ready by March 2, when the Unitarian Church free library donated its collection of approximately 800 volumes, encouraged by wide community support and a donation of $1,000 to the new library from George Yule.
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