Algonquin Area Public Library District – Branch Library

Specialties

We exist to serve the informational, educational, cultural and recreational needs of our residents.

History

Established in 1977.

A referendum passed in 1962 created the Algonquin Area Public Library District (AAPLD), a 14-​square-​mile area encompassing Algonquin, Lake in the Hills and Haeger’s Bend. Today’s AAPLD covers 30+ square miles and serves more than 40,000 residents. The Library began in 1920 in the room above Village Hall. Its collection grew to the point that in the late 1960s Administrative Librarian Freda Stahl joked that the Library might end up IN Village Hall if one more book was added. In 1973, the District purchased the site at Eastgate Drive. Voters approved a referendum to build a 16,000-square-foot facility, which opened in 1977. Over the next 23 years, the collection expanded seven times. In addition, the area’s population doubled, especially along Randall Rd. A $ 7.8-million bond issue passed in 2000 to construct a new 35,000-sq-ft library facility west of Jacobs High School on Harnish Drive. It opened in 2001; after renovations, the facility at Eastgate Drive reopened in 2002 as a branch.