Cook Memorial Public Library District
Encyclopedia
The Cook Memorial Public Library District (CMPLD) is the public library system that serves six communities in northern Lake County, Illinois: Green Oaks
, Indian Creek
, Libertyville
, Mettawa
, parts of Mundelein
, and Vernon Hills
. There are two library facilities: Cook Park Library in Libertyville and the Aspen Drive Library in Vernon Hills. CMPLD is a member of the "Reaching Across Illinois Library System" ("RAILS").
The Cook Memorial Library building
at 413 N. Milwakee Ave., Libertyville, Illinois, a classical revival building from 1921 and perhaps a former building of this library system, is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
.
The Libertyville Township Library Board was organized in 1924 to operate Cook Memorial Library, and library service continued to be offered to the community from the Cook home building. As the library’s collection expanded to meet the demands of the growing community, the Children’s Department was moved offsite and the collection became more fragmented.
In 1968 a new brick building was built, bringing the collection back together in one facility. The township library board was dissolved in 1973 with the formation of the Cook Memorial Public Library District. Shortly thereafter, parts of northern Vernon Township were annexed into the library district. In 1974 an automated circulation system was installed. In 1984 the basement was expanded by 5000 square feet (464.5 m²), increasing the size of the library to 33000 square feet (3,065.8 m²). The expanded basement housed the children’s department, office space and a public meeting room. Public internet stations were installed in 1995.
Adequate space continued to be an issue as the CMPLD provided library service to an ever expanding population. By 1996, the library district’s population was over 47,000 and its annual circulation was over one million items. Three unsuccessful referendums left the southern part of the library district underserved. In 2002, serving a population of over 58,000, CMPLD entered into an agreement with the village of Vernon Hills to rent space in the lower level of their village hall on Evergreen Drive in Vernon Hills. The Evergreen Interim Library, 2800 square feet (260.1 m²), opened on January 13, 2003.
To help alleviate a continued lack of adequate space, in 2007 the CMPLD board adopted an expansion proposal calling for the addition of 30000 square feet (2,787.1 m²) to the district's facilities. The $14 million project calls for the construction of a 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²) library on Aspen Drive in Vernon Hills, and adding about 11000 square feet (1,021.9 m²) and renovating the existing Cook Park library. About $7 million will be spent on each project. Funds from the annual operating budget are expected to service the $14 million of debt certificates over 20 years.
The CMPLD Board selected Gilfillan Callahan Nelson as the architects for both the new Aspen Drive library in Vernon Hills and the Cook Park site in Libertyville. Plans were drawn up for a 11200 square feet (1,040.5 m²) addition to the Cook Park site and a 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²) building to be constructed on Aspen Drive in Vernon Hills. Both of the Village Boards eventually approved the plans and construction contracts were awarded. While the Cook Park site was being remodeled, a temporary library location was established, in order to continue services and programming.
The new Aspen Drive Library building opened on July 10, 2010. The remodeled Cook Park Library reopened on January 8, 2011.
Library Directors
Verna E. Jarrett June 1921 – December 1922
Blanche A. Mitchell January 1923 – October 1951
Catherine Littler 1951 – March 1966
William Sannwald 1966–1968
Frederick Byergo September 1968 – April 2007
Dan Armstrong April 2007 – February 2010
Mary Ellen Stembal (Acting Director) February 2010 – September 2010
Stephen A. Kershner September 2010 - present
CMPLD offers free lectures covering a variety of topics. Past lectures include: Career Coaching (a series allowing participants to speak with a career coach), Get Your Kicks on Route 66 (a discussion about the history of Route 66), An Evening with Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln (a historical enactment of the life of the Lincolns), and a variety of beginning computer classes.
A Bookmobile offering numerous library items makes regular stops in neighborhoods and daycare centers throughout the District.
The CMPLD provides patrons with access to a variety of digital resources, including 74 reference databases that contain reliable, accurate, and detailed information on topics such as medicine, current events, investments, and genealogy. Most of these databases are also available for use at home or other remote locations, with a CMPLD library card. Other online resources include email newsletters, RSS Feeds, digital audiobooks and video.
Green Oaks, Illinois
Green Oaks is a village in the Libertyville Township of Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,572 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Green Oaks is located at ....
, Indian Creek
Indian Creek, Illinois
Indian Creek is a village in Vernon Township, Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is considered part of the Chicago metropolitan area and was originally incorporated in 1958 as a response to the threat of annexation by neighboring Vernon Hills...
, Libertyville
Libertyville, Illinois
Libertyville is an affluent northern suburb of Chicago in Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is located west of Lake Michigan on the Des Plaines River. The 2000 census population was 20,742; the 2005 estimate was 21,760...
, Mettawa
Mettawa, Illinois
Mettawa is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States dedicated to preserving open lands and low-density residential development. The village maintains trails for pedestrian, bicycle and equestrian usage...
, parts of Mundelein
Mundelein, Illinois
Mundelein is a village in Lake County, Illinois, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population was 31,064.-History:The community now known as Mundelein has been inhabited since at least 1650, when the Potowatami Indians were known to have been trading with French fur traders....
, and Vernon Hills
Vernon Hills, Illinois
Vernon Hills is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,120 at the 2000 census, and estimated to be 23,957 as of 2005...
. There are two library facilities: Cook Park Library in Libertyville and the Aspen Drive Library in Vernon Hills. CMPLD is a member of the "Reaching Across Illinois Library System" ("RAILS").
The Cook Memorial Library building
Cook Memorial Library (Libertyville, Illinois)
The Ansel B. Cook Home is a classical revival building built in 1921. It has also been known as Cook Memorial Library and as Victorian Museum. It is or was part of what is now the Cook Memorial Public Library District....
at 413 N. Milwakee Ave., Libertyville, Illinois, a classical revival building from 1921 and perhaps a former building of this library system, is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
History
Local library service began in 1909 when the Alpha Club (now the Libertyville Woman’s Club) began a subscription library in Decker and Bond, a Libertyville drugstore. The small collection soon outgrew the few shelves in the drugstore and found a new home in the Libertyville village hall in 1914. Libertyville's most prominent building, the Cook Mansion, was built in 1879 by Ansel Brainerd Cook. The Cook home and property was left to the village of Libertyville for library and park purposes in 1921 and opened to the public under the name of Cook Memorial Library in November of that year. The first head librarian, Blanche Mitchell, lived in one of the upstairs rooms of the Cook home with her husband.The Libertyville Township Library Board was organized in 1924 to operate Cook Memorial Library, and library service continued to be offered to the community from the Cook home building. As the library’s collection expanded to meet the demands of the growing community, the Children’s Department was moved offsite and the collection became more fragmented.
In 1968 a new brick building was built, bringing the collection back together in one facility. The township library board was dissolved in 1973 with the formation of the Cook Memorial Public Library District. Shortly thereafter, parts of northern Vernon Township were annexed into the library district. In 1974 an automated circulation system was installed. In 1984 the basement was expanded by 5000 square feet (464.5 m²), increasing the size of the library to 33000 square feet (3,065.8 m²). The expanded basement housed the children’s department, office space and a public meeting room. Public internet stations were installed in 1995.
Adequate space continued to be an issue as the CMPLD provided library service to an ever expanding population. By 1996, the library district’s population was over 47,000 and its annual circulation was over one million items. Three unsuccessful referendums left the southern part of the library district underserved. In 2002, serving a population of over 58,000, CMPLD entered into an agreement with the village of Vernon Hills to rent space in the lower level of their village hall on Evergreen Drive in Vernon Hills. The Evergreen Interim Library, 2800 square feet (260.1 m²), opened on January 13, 2003.
To help alleviate a continued lack of adequate space, in 2007 the CMPLD board adopted an expansion proposal calling for the addition of 30000 square feet (2,787.1 m²) to the district's facilities. The $14 million project calls for the construction of a 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²) library on Aspen Drive in Vernon Hills, and adding about 11000 square feet (1,021.9 m²) and renovating the existing Cook Park library. About $7 million will be spent on each project. Funds from the annual operating budget are expected to service the $14 million of debt certificates over 20 years.
The CMPLD Board selected Gilfillan Callahan Nelson as the architects for both the new Aspen Drive library in Vernon Hills and the Cook Park site in Libertyville. Plans were drawn up for a 11200 square feet (1,040.5 m²) addition to the Cook Park site and a 20000 square feet (1,858.1 m²) building to be constructed on Aspen Drive in Vernon Hills. Both of the Village Boards eventually approved the plans and construction contracts were awarded. While the Cook Park site was being remodeled, a temporary library location was established, in order to continue services and programming.
The new Aspen Drive Library building opened on July 10, 2010. The remodeled Cook Park Library reopened on January 8, 2011.
Library Directors
Verna E. Jarrett June 1921 – December 1922
Blanche A. Mitchell January 1923 – October 1951
Catherine Littler 1951 – March 1966
William Sannwald 1966–1968
Frederick Byergo September 1968 – April 2007
Dan Armstrong April 2007 – February 2010
Mary Ellen Stembal (Acting Director) February 2010 – September 2010
Stephen A. Kershner September 2010 - present
Current services
Some of the free programming the CMPLD offers to its patrons includes: Genealogy Networking Group and Genealogy After-Hours, The Morning and Evening Book Discussions, Book Talking for English Language Learners, Children's Reading Groups, Summer Reading Programs for children and adults, 'Tween Get Togethers, Teen Programming, etc.CMPLD offers free lectures covering a variety of topics. Past lectures include: Career Coaching (a series allowing participants to speak with a career coach), Get Your Kicks on Route 66 (a discussion about the history of Route 66), An Evening with Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln (a historical enactment of the life of the Lincolns), and a variety of beginning computer classes.
A Bookmobile offering numerous library items makes regular stops in neighborhoods and daycare centers throughout the District.
The CMPLD provides patrons with access to a variety of digital resources, including 74 reference databases that contain reliable, accurate, and detailed information on topics such as medicine, current events, investments, and genealogy. Most of these databases are also available for use at home or other remote locations, with a CMPLD library card. Other online resources include email newsletters, RSS Feeds, digital audiobooks and video.