Orland Park Public Library

Specialties

The Orland Park Public Library serves the residents of the Village of Orland Park. Our library serves a population of over 57,000 people and we circulate over 625,000 items per year. The library moved into its new award-​winning 93,000 square foot building in September 2004. We currently have a collection of over 263,811 items.

History

Established in 1937.

The Orland Park Public Library was formed in 1937 when the Orland Park Women’s Club decided to make the founding of a public library its major activity for the year. Partial funding was provided by a WPA library project through the Illinois State Library Extension board in Springfield. Mr. Roy Loebe donated the Purple Candle Building to use rent-​free. Many other donors contributed to the fledging library.

In 1940 the population of Orland Park was 631. In 1941 the Village Board passed an ordinance establishing a free public library operated by volunteers and stocked by donations. In 1943 a referendum was passed allowing taxes to be levied for the operation of the library.

By 1960 the population had grown to 2,592 and the library began receiving a new state library service, a bookmobile. This service continued until 1967 when the library joined the Suburban Library System. The population in 1970 was 6,391 and the Purple Candle Building simply could not hold another thing.