The first public library in Delaware, Ohio grew from a women's reading club formed in the 1890s. After opening a small, fee-based library for its 35 members in 1897, the women began to work toward expanding library service in the community. In 1899, The Delaware City Library Association was incorporated for the purpose of establishing a permanent free public library to serve the citizens of Delaware. The Delaware City Library, located in a donated room in the city's newly built Masonic lodge at the corner of William and Franklin Streets, opened on April 5, 1900 with a collection of 910 volumes.
As use of the library increased and the book collection grew, the need for a separate library building arose. A gift of $21,000 by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie allowed construction to begin in 1904 on a new building at 101 North Sandusky Street. This library, known as the Delaware Public Library, was dedicated on September 1, 1906 with large crowds attending the opening ceremonies. The collection now consisted of over 4000 books, magazines, and newspapers and the words "Free To All" were inscribed above the front door.
The Carnegie building served as the library's home during decades of continuous growth. In 1951, the library became The Delaware County District Library, serving most of the population of Delaware County. Given its increased service area and the constant addition of new books and materials, the once modest collection swelled to the limits of the building's capacity. By 1980, around 70,000 items were crammed into a space designed to hold only 16,000 books.
To meet the need for more space, the library moved into a renovated grocery store at its current Winter Street location in 1984. However, the building at that time looked nothing like today's facility. It was not long before the libray needed to expand yet again. In 1990, the voters of Delaware passed a bond issue for $4.5 million to be used to expand the main library and also to build branches in Powell and Ostrander. The main library would remain at its 84 East Winter Street address, but the building would be completely rebuilt. The plan was to build a facility large enough to accomodate many years of future growth. Construction began in March 1991 after the collection was moved to a temporary home on London Road. Fifteen months later, on June 8, 1992, the new Delaware County District Library opened its doors. Today the library owns over 150,000 items including books, periodicals, videos, audiobooks, and art prints.
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