About Us

Three library buildings

The Rock Island Public Library first opened to the public on November 25, 1872, in a rented location in downtown Rock Island. Because the pre-existing private library donated a location, books and the services of their director, Miss Ellen Gale, the Rock Island Library became the first public library to open for business in the State of Illinois. In 1903, the Main Library opened.

Since our first days, we've continued to evolve, offering new services and locations to meet the needs of many generations. Our locations now include the Rock Island Main Library at 401 19th Street, the 30/31 Branch at 3059 30th Street and the Southwest Branch at 9010 Ridgewood Road. See Branch Services for more information.

Today, we offer More for your Life, including:

Print, audio and video resources for checkout at three locations,
Public computing, including Internet and WiFi access,
Online research and learning tools to use from your own home computer, and
Downloadable e-books and other tools.

From the area's widest selection of new and classic books for all ages in print, audio and large print formats to new DVD movies and CD audio, along with magazines, newspapers, computer resources, WiFi access, graphic novels and more, we have what you're looking for!

For announcements and current happenings, see Library News.

Administrative Services

The Rock Island Public Library serves the people of Rock Island and the Milan-Blackhawk area through the Main Library, 30/31 and Southwest Branches. The Library seeks to be a learning, information and popular materials center that meets the needs of citizens today and in the future.

**Administrative Staff**
Director	Ava Ketter	309-732-7300	ketter.ava _rigov.org *
Assistant Director	Amy Penry	309-732-7302	penry.amy_rigov.org*
Admin. Secretary		309-732-7305
Children's Services	Susan Foster	309-732-7362	foster.susan_rigov.org*
Circulation Services	Lisa Davison	309-732-7350	davison.lisa_rigov.org*
Reference Services	Natalie Struecker	309-732-7330	struecker.natalie_rigov.org*
Branch Services	Tricia Kane	309-732-7364	kane.tricia_rigov.org*

* E-mail changed to avoid spam. Replace _ with @ sign before sending.

Business Office Hours: Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For information on Community Room faciltiies or to make reservations, please call our Business Office at 732-7302.

Library Board of Trustee Meeting Minutes

Minutes of the library Board of Trustees are posted here after they are approved.

The meeting minutes are attached below, as Microsoft Word documents. If you do not have Word installed on your computer, you may download and install the free Word Viewer program from Microsoft.

Board of Directors

The Rock Island Public Library is governed by a volunteer board of directors. The Board of Trustees meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 11:30 a.m. at the Main Library, 401 19th Street. All meetings of the board are open to the public. To view the agenda for this month's meeting, click the agenda file attached below. To see minutes, follow the link to the meeting minutes page.

**Rock Island Library Board of Directors**
President	Vice-President	Secretary/Treasurer
Cindy Lukasik	Nancy Coin	Russel R. Kennel

**Additional Library Trustees**
Kay Coin	Kevin Koski	Nancy Hass
Joy Murphy	Eudell Watts, III	Evie White

The Rock Island Public Library also provides services to residents of the Milan-Blackhawk Area Public Library District by contract.

**Milan-Blackhawk Area Public Library District Board**
President: Elizabeth Bouslough	Treasurer: Donna Abolt	Secretary: Linda Ryden
Sally Vetter	Janette Watkins	Cheryl Koutsky	Stuart Olson

Our Services for You

Your Library Card

Library cards are provided free of charge to all residents of our district, as part of your tax-supported library services. Your card gives you borrowing privileges here and at most public libraries in Illinois, access to special online resources, and more. Click here to learn how to get a library card.

Interlibrary Loan

If you need a book, DVD, or other item that we don't have, ask us to borrow it from another library for you. As these are not our items, certain limitations and costs may apply. For details, see our policy.

Reference Desk

The Reference Desk provides direction to library materials and advice on library collections and services. Requests for general information and research on a specific subject can be obtained from multiple sources. To contact our Reference Desk at the Main Library, call 309-732-7341.

Programs and Events

We have a regular schedule of educational and cultural events for all ages. See our calendar for details.

Computers

Public use computers are available at all three Rock Island Libraries. Users must have a library card in good standing. Our reservation system allows one hour of computer time per day. Printing is .25 per page. Everyone who uses a library computer must follow our policy regarding computer and Internet use. Free WiFi access is also available for users with their own laptop computers.

Photocopying and Printing

The charge for black and white photocopies and printing from Internet Stations is .25 per side. The Rock Island Library uses a vend-a-print self-service station.

Community/Meeting Room

Any group wishing to use the Main Library or Southwest Branch Community Room must reserve the room in advance and agree to follow library policies.The charge is $5. Groups wishing to use our projection equipment pay an additional $10. Groups using the Main Library Community Room may also sign up to use our mobile computer training lab. Room set-up and technical support is your responsibility. Groups should plan to end their meeting no later than 15 minutes before closing time. To check on room availability, please call our business office at 309-732-7305 between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Library Policies

Below are some of the policies about the public's use of the library.

Behavior in the Library

The Rock Island Public Library welcomes people of all ages. To ensure the safety and comfort of all users, as well as preserving our materials, we have policies for behavior in the library. These include:

No food or drink in the public areas. (Food allowed in Community Room as part of a program.)
Proper attire (Shirt and shoes required.)
Respect for others who are also using the library - consideration in using cell phones, keeping conversations quiet, etc.
No solicitation in or around library property.
Use of the bicycle rack provided. Bikes may not be brought into the library, placed in hallways or left anywhere else where they create an obstacle. Bicyclists provide their own lock.

As is true with all public buildings in Illinois, the Rock Island Library is a non-smoking environment.

Persons who are disruptive will be asked to leave. In extreme cases, the library reserves the right to trepass or ban users who do not respect the rules of the library. For the full list of behavioral policies, please see the attachment below.

Circulation Policy

You can check out materials from the Rock Island Public Library with any current card in good standing from members of the RiverShare Libraries group. Patrons of these libraries have full system privileges, including placing holds in our online catalog.

Patrons of libraries using the PrairieCat system have walk-in reciprocal borrowing privileges at RiverShare Libraries, and vice versa. The two systems have agreed to honor each other cards for walk-in borrowing and returning. However, online holds are not available. We enter your patron data the first time you use your card from a non-RiverShare library. Your information will be in our system for all subsequent uses.

Each library in the system sets its own policies for the use of materials, including check-out times, fines and damage costs.

If you live in Rock Island or within the Milan-Blackhawk Area Library District, come to any Rock Island Public Library to get your free library card. You'll need two forms of ID with your current address and current name.

All local library patrons must present their library card to borrow library materials or to use public computers at the Rock Island Library.

A Library Card is like a contract. In return for free access to thousands of materials, you agree to return those materials in the same condition as you found them. The cardholder (or parent/guardian of a minor child) is responsible for the payment of all fines, fees, and damages in addition to replacement and cataloging costs in the case of unreturned items. No library cards will be issued to patrons with outstanding fines or unreturned library materials at any library within our system. Library users must comply with all rules and policies as established by the Board of Trustees.

Use of Rock Island Library Cards:

A valid (current) card must be presented to check out or renew materials. You must have your library card with you. A library card is also required to use databases (online tools) that are limited to our cardholders by the terms of our subscription with that company.
Patrons with excessive fines, fees or damages may be denied borrowing privileges and use of other library resources, including computers.
Persons holding a visitor card may check out items in any format.
A person must be five years of age or older to get a library card in their own name.
You are responsible for all items checked out on your card. The Library cautions patrons against lending your library card or card number to others.
If your card is lost or stolen, notify the library immediately. You are responsible for items checked out on a lost or stolen card, from the time it was lost/stolen until it was reported lost or stolen to the Library.
If you lend your card to someone who has a barred (banned) card, you could lose your own library privileges. Library staff may require a second form of ID and deny use if the name and address do not match.
If you change your name and/or address, please let us know so your card may be reissued. If you move outside Rock Island or the Milan area, you will need to obtain a library card from your new hometown.

Length of checkout:

Most library items check out for 21 days, unless the date due falls on a day the Library is closed. The due date then advances to the next working day. Fiction (entertainment) DVDs check out for 7 days for a charge of $1. These items may not be renewed. Non-fiction (educational) DVDs circulate for 21 days and may be renewed once. Book discussion kits check out for six-weeks with no renewal period.

Extended checkouts may be allowed for vacation loans (books and audio books only.) Patrons needing a vacation loan checkout must inform the circulation desk in advance.

Most materials may be renewed once, unless there are reserves on the item. In that case, no renewal is allowed. Some materials may not be renewed at all.

In general, the Library does not limit the number of items that may be checked out on a valid library card.

Exceptions to our checkout (circulation) policies include:

· Reference items (normally marked R) do not circulate. Historical Collection items (marked I) also do not circulate. These items must be used in the Library.

· Current issues of each magazine title do not circulate, unless the library owns a duplicate copy. Back issues circulate for 21 days.

· Newspapers are provided for in-library reading only.

· In special cases, some limits on a subject area or format may be imposed due to the small number of those items in the collection.

The above is a much abridged version of our Circulation Policy. For full details on policies, charges and other requirements, see the attached PDF.

Community Room Use

The Rock Island Public Library has a Community Meeting Room and video equipment available for community groups and organizations for meetings of an educational, cultural, professional or business nature. All presentations must be appropriate for a general audience. Rooms are available at both the Main Library downtown and the Southwest Branch. There is a small charge for use of the room and/or the Library video projection equipment.

To reserve either room, call the Administrative Secretary at 309-732-7305 during regular business hours.

Use of the Community Room and equipment is to be granted on the following basis:

First Priority: Library sponsored or co-sponsored programs.

Second Priority: Rock Island groups and organizations.

Third Priority: Quad City groups and organizations.

The Library reserves the right to revoke permission for use of the Community Room if the room is needed for Library purposes. Every attempt will be made to find an acceptable alternate time. A four-week notice must be given to the booked organization.

The Community Room is not available for fund raising, the sale of items, political rallies, or religious services (Exception: Library, Foundation, or Friends of the Library organizations).

Groups are responsible for their own room set-up.

For further details on acceptable Community Room uses, charges and other requirements, please see the attached PDF.

Computer/Internet Use

Rock Island Public Library Internet computers provide patrons with access to a vast collection of knowledge available through the global resources of the Internet. As with other Library resources, it is the responsibility of the user to select or reject online information for his or her own use. Users are encouraged to use good judgment and discretion in use of the Internet. The Library does not monitor, and has no control over, information accessed through the Internet and cannot be held responsible for content. The Library does reserve the right to monitor patron use of the Internet. Use of the Internet is a privilege. Inappropriate use will result in suspension of privileges, up to and including permanent cancellation of privileges.

Examples of prohibited uses include:

Unauthorized tampering with computer hardware, software or other parts of the system
Storage of data to anything other than removable media
Violations of software license agreements and copyright laws
Violations of another user's privacy
Use of sound or visuals disruptive or disturbing to others
Illegal acts involving Internet computing resources
Registering under another name/card number other than your own

Children 12 years and younger must use the designated computers in the Children's Room. To read the full policy and user agreement, please open the attached file.

Donations

The Rock Island Public Library welcomes donations to support library services and programs. Your options include:

Donating money directly to the Rock Island Public Library Foundation, a 501c3 private foundation set up to benefit non-operational needs of the Rock Island Public Library. Donations are tax-deductible to the amount allowed by law.

Donating funds for the purchase of special materials or collections.

Donating used books and other salable items to the Friends of the Library bookstore. Donations may be taken directly to the Friends of the Library permanent bookstore room at our 30/31 Branch Library or dropped off at our Main Library location for sale there. Please do not leave donations in our drive-up book return.

For more details, please see the Support Your Library section.

Unattended Children

Parents are responsible for the behavior of their children while they are in the Library. The Rock Island Public Library staff is committed to help children with activities related to the Library. However, Library staff cannot serve as baby-sitters, teachers, or disciplinarians. Violations of this policy are grounds for suspension of library privileges. Whenever advisable, the Library will notify the parent of incidents involving an unattended child.

Children age six and under must be accompanied and directly supervised at all times by a parent or other responsible caregiver. When the safety of an unattended child is in doubt, or the parent or responsible caregiver cannot be located, or if the Library is closing, Library staff is authorized to call the police and stay with the child until the police arrive.

For the full policy, please see the enclosed attachment.

History of the Library

As the first library to actually open to the public in the State of Illinois, the Rock Island Public Library is considered by many as the oldest public library in the state.

Its remarkable history goes back to its beginning in 1855 as an “Association” library, funded by donations from local business leaders and subscriptions from the general public. Citizens who wanted access were required to pay an annual fee of $3.00. This original effort at a city library ended after only two years.

A second attempt revived the library in 1865 with the privately funded “Young Men’s Literary Association.” Sponsored lectures featured some well-known speakers, from Clara Barton to Ralph Waldo Emerson. The lectures provided a stream of revenue which the association used for the purchase of more books.

The Young Men’s Literary Association functioned until 1872 when the State of Illinois authorized communities to assess taxes in order to provide public libraries. On November 25, 1872, the Rock Island Public Library opened its doors as the first public library in the entire state of Illinois. It was housed in one rented room, measuring only 24' x 48', in the Mitchell and Lynde Building just north of 2nd Avenue at 17th Street (now the site of the National City Bank).

The building now in use, at 401-19th Street, was completed and opened in 1903. It was first called “Rock Island’s Temple of Literature.” Much of its funding came from the donations of two contemporary Rock Island businessmen, Frederick Denkmann and Frederick Weyerhaeuser, his brother-in-law, who would later become giants in the American lumber business.

For those who take a moment to notice, the building’s columns support an original “frieze” that surrounds the building, in which are engraved the names of a dozen notable authors. The original library’s stone walls were quarried in North Amherst, Ohio, and were initially gray in color. Their exposure to the elements has turned them to a mellow gold, perhaps due to tiny amounts of iron in the stone which has oxidized over the years.

The library building has been updated and refurbished several times. Its collections of books and resources are continually replenished. In 1985, the building was enhanced by the construction of a large addition. As a finishing touch, the Harris and Katz family donated a sculptural fountain for the north side of the new addition. The official name for of the fountain is “Essere Umano” (to be human), although it is commonly thought of as the “library swans.”

Today the library operates in three locations: the Main Library, which continues to serve the larger community from its site in downtown Rock Island; the 30/31 Branch; and the Southwest Branch. The 30/31 Branch has been expanded and remodeled to include a computer center, a drive-up window, and a ‘Friends of the Library’ Coffee Shop and Book Sale room. Similarly, the Southwest branch has expanded and renovated its facilities, nearly quadrupling its space. It now enjoys a much larger collection, expanded computer access, and a community room. Both branches have specialized homework resources and materials of interest to children and youth as well as the adult population.

The Rock Island Public Library belongs to the Prairie Area Library System (PALS), a library consortium that networks member libraries into a shared system. Residents of Rock Island can now access the area’s libraries’ catalog listings from the convenience of their home computers. Card holders can place reserves, see what they have checked out, and request books to be delivered from other libraries.

Today the Rock Island Public Library houses well over 200,000 volumes. The collection includes not only books and magazines, but also musical CDs, books on tape and CD, multimedia kits, educational and entertainment videos and DVDs, and books in Large Print format. The library provides free access to the Internet and makes available some specialized electronic databases.

Additionally, the Rock Island Public Library offers programs for children and adults, including Story Hours, Parent/Tot programs, and special outreach programs to the community and its schools. The library hosts a popular “Frieze Lecture” series, sponsors displays by local artists on its 2nd Floor Gallery, and hosts a variety of other programs.

Library Directors @ Rock Island Public Library

1873-1937	Miss Ellen Gale
1937-1948	Elsie Schocker
1948-1968	Anne Benner
1968-1972	Betty Kohler
1973-1978	Leonard Meinhold
1979-1982	Charles Perdue
1983-1998	James Warwick
1998-Now	Ava Ketter

What's on the Library Frieze?

As you walk toward the Main Library building in downtown Rock Island, let your eyes wander up the side of the outside walls, above the Ionic columns and highest windows.

Just under the roofline, stretching all the way around the outside perimeter of the building, you will discover the names of twelve noteworthy men of letters whom history has honored with continual prominence. These names are important decorations and are a part of the library’s famous frieze. This frontispiece has provided inspiration for our annual Frieze Lecture series sponsored in the autumn of each year.

Whose Names Appear Around our Building?

Homer: Greek poet, credited with two epic works, the Iliad & the Odyssey.

Longfellow (Henry Wadsworth): American poet, educator and linguist, famed for Song of Hiawatha, The Children’s Hour and The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (from Tales of a Wayside Inn).

Emerson (Ralph Waldo): American author, orator, poet and philosopher; often quoted.

Virgil: Classical poet of the Roman era, works include The Aeneid.

Hugo (Victor): French author, famed for Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Shakespeare (William): England’s favorite, and most famous, playwright and poet.

Goethe (Johann Wolfgang von): German poet, novelist, playwright and natural philosopher, best known for Faust.

Burns (Robert): Scotland’s poet laureate, creator of Tam O’Shanter, Auld Lang Syne, To a Mouse and many other works.

Tegner (Esaias): popular Swedish poet of the 19th century.

Dante (Alighieri): Italian, author of the Divine Comedy.

Hawthorne (Nathaniel): 19th century American author; works include House of the Seven Gables and The Scarlet Letter.

Bancroft (George): American historian and founder of U.S. Naval Academy; one of the prominent citizens chosen to ride the original 1854 Grand Excursion.

* What is a frieze? It is an architectural term for a horizontal band of painted or carved decoration running around the top of a wall. It was often found in classical architecture, such as on Greek and Roman temples.

Illinois State Library Services

The Illinois State Library provides you with services directly, through us, and in cooperation with other agencies.

Ask?Away Illinois: Librarians are online 24/7 to answer questions and help you find information.
FirstSearch: (Login required.) Through local libraries, the State Library provides most Illinois residents with access to archives of magazine articles and other research information. See our Online Library pages for access to specific resources.
Talking Book and Braille Service: Provides audiobooks and Braille texts to residents who are blind, visually handicapped, or have other physical limitations or a reading disability. (Application Form)
Find-It! Illinois: A portal for the State Library's online services, including the Illinois Government Information search engine, Illinois Digital Archives and Digital Illinois collections, Illinois Center for the Book/Illinois Authors, and more.