Detroit Public Library

Detroit Public Library

Established	1865
Location	5201 Woodward Avenue Detroit, Michigan
Branches	21
Collection
Size	7,572,562
Access and use
Population served	918,849
Other information
Director	Jo Anne Mondowney
Website	http://www.detroit.lib.mi.us
Detroit Public Library
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Michigan State Historic Site
Built	1921, 1963
Architect	Cass Gilbert
Architectural style	Italian Renaissance
Part of	Cultural Center Historic District (#83003791)
Significant dates
Designated CP	November 21, 1983
Designated MSHS	January 24, 1964

The Detroit Public Library (DPL) is the second largest library system in the U.S. state of Michigan by volumes held (after the University of Michigan Library) and is the 20th largest library system (and the fourth-largest public library system) in the United States. It is composed of the Main Library on Woodward Avenue, which houses DPL administration offices, and 23 branch locations across the city. The Main Library is part of Detroit's Cultural Center Historic District listed in the National Register of Historic Places adjacent to Wayne State University campus and across from the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Designed by Cass Gilbert, the Detroit Public Library was constructed with Vermont marble and serpentine Italian marble trim in an Italian Renaissance style. His son, Cass Gilbert, Jr. was a partner with Francis J. Keally in the design of the library's additional wings added in 1963. Among his other buildings, Cass Gilbert designed the United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, DC, the Minnesota State Capitol and the Woolworth Building in New York City.

Tours of the historic main library are available through the Detroit Public Library Friends Foundation.

History

A stand-alone public library in Detroit dates back to 1865. An 1842 state law requiring the Detroit Board of Education to open a library resulted in a public reading room opening on March 25, 1865 in the old Capitol High School at State and Griswold Street. In 1872, the Centre Park Library opened across the street from the current location of the Skillman Branch in downtown Detroit at Gratiot and Library Street. The first branch library opened in 1897 when the Detroit Water Commission library was opened to the public; in 1905 this library was turned over to the Detroit Library Commission.

The first library building, constructed in 1872 at Centre Park

Several additional branches opened shortly afterwards, including one in the Old Main building of Wayne State University. But it was not until 1910 when Andrew Carnegie, the great American library philanthropist of the early 20th century, donated funds did Detroiters decide to build a larger central library to supplement Centre Park. Property near Woodward and Kirby was purchased and in 1912 Cass Gilbert was commissioned to construct his design of a three-floor, early Italian Renaissance-style building. Due to delays and World War I, the Main Library did not open until March 21, 1921. It was dedicated June 3, 1921. The library system's bookmobile service began in 1940.

After World War II, Detroit Public Library obtained "projected books" on microfilm and loaned these with portable projectors to disabled veterans (and other patrons with disabilities) who could press a switch under their chin more easily than turning a page.

The north and south wings opened on June 23, 1963 and added a significant amount of space to the building. The wings were connected along the rear of the original building and a new entrance created on Cass Avenue. Above this entrance is a mosaic by Millard Sheets entitled The River of Knowledge. As part of the addition, a tripych mural was added to the west wall of Adam Strohm Hall on the third floor. The mural by local artist John Stephens Coppin is entitled Man's Mobility and depicts a history of transportation. This mural compliments a tryparch mural on the opposite wall completed in 1921 by Gari Melchers depicting Detroit's early history.

Detroit Public Library is also a founding member of the Detroit area library network (DALNET). Historically, DALNET ran the Integrated Library System (online library catalog) for the library but the library later purchased its own servers, after the mainframe computer era began to wane, and the library now runs its own systems. The library continues to be a member partner in the consortium.

Detroit Public Library Friends Foundation

Mission Statement

The Detroit Public Library Friends Foundation has, for over 70 years, provided through gifts, grants, general contributions, and event fees, books and materials to further enrich Library collections, support special programs, enhance all forms of literacy, and promote an interest in books and other forms of the human record in both print and electronic formats. Enrichment programs - library activities offered beyond traditional library services - are at the core of our mission in making the library a vital community space for the city in which people live, work, play and study.

Literacy and Educational Enrichment

The Detroit Public Library Friends Foundation has for over 70 years provided enrichment programming to the Detroit Public Library System and its 21 branches. As the Detroit Public Schools only offer library services at select DPS locations, the public library system serves as the school library system for Detroit’s children. The Friends has served all schools – public, private, charter and the home schooled - and the DPL by funding and sustaining several long standing programs including: HYPE Teen Center Programs, Makers Space Workshops, American Girl Tea Party, Author Day, Summer Reading Program, Park & Read, The Junior Great Books Program.

Outreach and Detroit Cultural Enrichment

The Friends and its partners offered a myriad of public offerings showcasing non-public ephemera and materials that chronicle our local heritage from both entertaining and scholarly points of view. Each special collection offers programs, workshops and collaborative efforts designed to support Detroit’s cultural vitality. Programs include: African American Booklist, Not Far From the Tree, Genealogy Workshop, Mary Adelaide Hester Rare Book Collection Lecture, Annual E. Azalia Hackley Concert, Support for the Library's Special Collections, Main Library Art and Architecture Tour, Used Book Sales.

Sustainability - Preservation, Conservation and Access

Daily, individuals come to the library seeking images, photographs and text for use in personal as well as scholarly research. Unless these treasures are made accessible, they remain unknown, perhaps even lost. It is collections such as this that make the Detroit Public Library unique. Public libraries nationwide are often described as being “vanilla”. Every institution has the same types of collections and offers the same kind of services. It is the “special collections” that make DPL stand apart from other institutions across the nation. Programs include: Cataloguing the Manuscript Records of the Burton Historical Collection, Rare Book Collection Cataloguing Project, Coleman A. Young Mayoral Papers, Digital Asset Management System (DAMS), Acquisitions and Restoration, Material and Supplies.

Specific Branch Program Initiatives

In working with various branches throughout the system, unique fund opportunities have been made available by neighborhood organizations. These opportunities occur as a result of branch neighborhood involvement, community outreach and the hard work of dedicated staff at specific locations. Programs include: Conely Branch, Literacy and Libraries for Southwest Detroit, African American Essay and Oratory Contest at the Duffield Branch, Redford Branch - Detroit Soup Grant, Parkman Branch - Summer Coders Program.

Additionally, with Friends’ funding assistance, the library branches support programming that appeal to local audiences as well as audiences of specific cultural heritages. This requires that branch managers and children librarians at the neighborhood level address the needs of Detroit audiences whose language may not be English and whose cultural values and customs may be unfamiliar in other areas of the city.

One cannot imagine the impacts of a story hour, a craft program, a visit with farm animals, or a live performance upon children whose economic situation makes such pleasures rare treats. The Friends Foundation has supported over 200 such programs including but not limited to: Arts and Scraps, The Storytellers, Michigan Notable Books, U of M Natural History Museum, Poetry and Dance, Pewabic Pottery, Michigan Gardener, Craft Programs for Children & Adults, Michigan Opera Theatre, Monthly Art Sessions for Families, The Reptile Man, Health and Wellness Programs

Administration

The Detroit Public Library is a publicly funded, independent, municipal corporation. The Detroit Public Library Commission whose members are appointed by the Detroit Public Schools Board of Education, is the governing authority for the system. The commission establishes policies and administer the funds. There are 7 Library Commissioners, with the seventh commissioner being the current president of the Board of Education, who is an ex-offico commissioner. Library Commissioners are appointed to 6 year staggered terms. There is an annual general meeting where the president, vice president, and secretary of the commission are elected, and monthly meetings held at the Main Library which are open to the public. The commission appoint and hires the Director, Deputy Director and all other employees are hired by the commission, upon the recommendation of the Director.

September 16, 2014, former DPL chief administrative and technology officer Timothy Cromer was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a $1.5 million kickback scheme."

Collections

The Detroit Public Library offers users books, magazines, records, CDs, videos, DVDs and electronic materials through access to subscription databases. It also houses the Burton Historical Collection (named for historian and donor Clarence M. Burton), the E. Azalia Hackley Collection (named for Emma Azalia Hackley), and the National Automotive History Collection. Additionally, there are online collections, including one on Detroit Tigers and Baseball Hall of Fame radio broadcaster Ernie Harwell. The Ernie Harwell Online Exhibit is part of the Burton Historical Collection.The Detroit Public Library Online Catalog

Services

The library also offers practical advice to Detroiters through their TIP service, short for The Information Place. Librarians and support staff have access to a TIP database and offer free community information and referral service on matters such as food, housing, transportation, financial aid, legal advice, education, counseling, health care and family support. Library clients can search the TIP database themselves when visiting the library.

Gallery

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  Main entrance of the Italian Renaissance-style building

• 

  Detroit Public Library, Cass Avenue entrance

• 

  Detail of the Mosaic above the Cass Avenue entrance

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  Skillman Branch, opened in 1932 on the site of the Centre Park Branch

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  Skillman Branch seen from the aptly named Library Street

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  Skillman Branch reopened in 2006 after renovations

Branches

Branch	Address
Herbert Bowen Branch	3648 W. Vernor/W. Grand Blvd.
James Valentine Campbell Branch	8733 W. Vernor/Springwells
Chandler Park Branch	12800 Harper/Dickerson
Henry Chaney Branch	16101 Grand River/Greenfield
Jessie C. Chase Branch	17731 W. Seven M./Southfield
Edwin F. Conely Branch	4600 Martin/Michigan
Frederick Douglass Branch for Specialized Services (formerly The Frederick Douglass Center for Specialized Services)	3666 Grand River/Trumbull
Divie B. Duffield Branch	2507 W. Grand Blvd./14th St.
Thomas A. Edison Branch	18400 Joy Rd./Southfield
Elmwood Park Branch	550 Chene/Lafayette
Benjamin Franklin Branch	13651 E. McNichols/Gratiot
Bela Hubbard Branch	12929 W. McNichols/J. Couzens
Thomas Jefferson Branch	12350 E. Outer Drive/E. Warren
Elisabeth Knapp Branch	13330 Conant/E. Davison
Abraham Lincoln Branch	1221 E. Seven Mile/Russell
Main Library	5201 Woodward Ave.
John Monteith Branch (Was scheduled to be abandoned/scrapped after Dec 22, 2011. Reopened in January 2012)	14100 Kercheval/Eastlawn
Francis Parkman Branch	1766 Oakman Blvd./Linwood
Redford Branch	21200 Grand River/W. McNichols
Sherwood Forest Branch	7117 W. Seven Mile/Livernois
Rose and Robert Skillman Branch (formerly Downtown Library)	121 Gratiot/Library
Laura Ingalls Wilder Branch	7140 E. Seven Mile/Van Dyke

The Douglass Branch for Specialized Services is the base of operations for the bookmobile service, and it also houses the Library for the Blind and the Physically Handicapped and other special services.

The quotes on the outside of the Skillman Branch read, per side:

Gratiot Avenue : "The Fountain of Knowledge Flows Through Books"

Library Street Side: "The Wealth Of The Mind Is The Only True Wealth"

Grand River Street Side : "Religion, Knowledge, Morality"

Farmer Street Side: "Civilization is the Accumulated Culture of Mankind"

Former branches

• John F. Gray Branch
• Bernard Ginsburg Branch (Closed in 1927 and turned over to Recreation Department.)
• Gabriel Richard Branch (Was located on 9876 Grand River/Stoepel. Closed due to budget cuts Dec 22, 2011)
• George Van Ness Lothrop Branch (At the southwest corner of West Warren Avenue and West Grand Boulevard-demolished October 2009)
• George Osius Branch
• Henry M. Utley Branch ( 8726 Woodward Avenue, now "The Family Place". )
• Magnus Butzel Branch (At the southwest corner of Harper Avenue (I-94 Service Road) and East Grand Boulevard; demolished in 1998)
• Mark Twain Library (Closed and Relocated to Mt. Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in 1996. Demolished October 2011)
• Mark Twain Annex (Closed due to budget cuts in Dec 22, 2011. Located at 4741 Iroquois)

External links

• Official Detroit Public Library website — includes a history of DPL and information on branches and access to the Online Catalogue.

• TIP (The Information Place).
• The Ernie Harwell Online Exhibit.
• The Drawing Power: An Exhibit of Motor City Ad Art in the Age of Muscle and Chrome.
• The The Making of Modern Michigan.