Dates: | 1871-1908 |
Size: | 18 linear feet |
Repository: | Chicago Public Library, Harold Washington Library Center, Special Collections, 400 S. State Street, Chicago, IL 60605 |
Collection Number: | SPE: CPL-Early |
Provenance: | These materials were collected and archived by staff of CPL. |
Access: | No restrictions. Researchers, please request this material 24 hours in advance of use. |
Citation: | When quoting material from this collection the preferred citation is: Chicago Public Library – Early CPL Series, [Subseries Name, Box #, Folder #], Special Collections, Chicago Public Library |
Processed by: | Morag Walsh, 2001 |
Historical Note
The Chicago Public Library was founded in 1872, and opened to the public on January 1, 1873. The Library came into being as a result of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Before the fire there were a number of libraries operating within the city, although none were run by the city, nor were they free. Virtually all of the books in these libraries, most notable those belonging to the Chicago Library, run by the Young Men’s Association, burned in the blaze.
Responding to the disaster, Thomas Hughes, British Member of Parliament and author of Tom Brown’s School Days, and A.H. Burgess led a drive in Great Britain to “present a Free Library to Chicago, to remain there as a mark of sympathy now, and a keepsake and a token of true brotherly kindness forever.” The result of this endeavor was around 7,000 volumes being donated to the new library from universities, publishers, learned societies, and individuals including Queen Victoria, Benjamin Disraeli, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Robert Browning, John Stuart Mill, John Ruskin and Matthew Arnold.
The impending book donation caused a problem for Chicago’s city fathers. There was no provision in either city or state law which allowed cities to raise funds to maintain free public libraries. A petition was quickly organized by leading Chicagoans to call on Mayor Medill to call a public meeting to establish a free public library for Chicago. The result was the Illinois Library Act of 1872 which was soon followed by a city ordinance proclaiming the establishment of the Chicago Public Library.
Donations flowed in, not just from Great Britain, but from most European countries, including a significant donation of books in German for German speaking residents of the city. Books and money came in from all over the United States and from individuals in Chicago itself. The Board of Directors was established and the first president named was Thomas Hoyne, the first Secretary was William Bailey Wickersham. The Library opened to the public on January 1, 1873 in a disused iron water tank, one of the few structures which had survived the fire, on the corner of Adams and LaSalle Streets. By October 1873 William Frederick Poole, one of the foremost librarians in the country, was appointed Librarian and by May 1874, the Library began to circulate most of its collection.
The Library moved from location to location during its first 24 years until 1897 when it moved into the newly constructed Central Library, build expressly for the Library’s use, on Michigan Avenue, between Randolph and Washington Streets. The Library remained there for almost 100 years until 1991 when a second new Central Library was built in the south loop, the Harold Washington Library Center.
Presidents of the Board of Directors, Chicago Public Library, 1872-Present
Name: | From: | Until: |
Hoyne, Thomas | April 25, 1872 | October 16, 1875 |
Shorey, Daniel L. | December 11, 1875 | June 12, 1880 |
Loewenthal, Berthold | June 12, 1880 | October 23, 1880 |
Onahan, William James | October 23, 1880 | July 9, 1881 |
Walker, John B. | July 13, 1881 | July 8, 1882 |
Rubens, Harry | July 8, 1882 | August 10, 1885 |
Callaghan, Bernard | August 14, 1885 | July 10, 1886 |
Brine, George J. | August 31, 1886 | May 28, 1887 |
Enright, John W. | May 28, 1887 | July 14, 1888 |
Beebe, William H. | July 14, 1888 | November 2, 1889 |
Shortall, John G. | November 2, 1889 | July 9, 1892 |
Hirsch, Emil Gustav | July 9, 1892 | September 22, 1894 |
Dreyer, Edward S. | September 22, 1894 | July 10, 1896 |
Hatch, Azel F. | July 10, 1896 | July 22, 1898 |
McCormick, Robert S. | July 22, 1898 | July 26, 1900 |
Franks, Jacob | July 26, 1900 | July 11, 1901 |
Plamondon, Charles A. | July 11, 1901 | July 10, 1902 |
Peabody, Francis S. | July 10, 1902 | July 23, 1903 |
Eckhart, John W. | July 23, 1903 | July 24, 1905 |
Brosseau, Zenophile P. | July 24, 1905 | July 23, 1906 |
Bowers, James F. | July 23, 1906 | February 24, 1908 |
Cigrand, Bernard J. | February 24, 1908 | July 12, 1909 |
Roulston, Robert J. | July 12, 1909 | April 15, 1913 |
Lagorio, Antonio | April 17, 1913 | February 28, 1916 |
Henius, Max | February 28, 1916 | October, 1917 |
Barr, Alfred E. | October 22, 1917 | December 28, 1921 |
Schick, Charles E. | January 23, 1922 | December 27, 1923 |
Tollkuehn, Frank F. | January 10, 1924 | July 14, 1924 |
Fyffe, Colin C.H. | July 14, 1924 | August 8, 1927 |
Kolar, Andrew J. | August 8, 1927 | July 22, 1929 |
Roulston, Robert J. | July 22, 1929 | September 25, 1929 |
Herrmann, U.J. | October 7, 1929 | July 20, 1931 |
Kolar, Andrew J. | July 20, 1931 | September 25, 1933 |
Herrmann, U.J. | September 25, 1933 | July 8, 1935 |
Fleming, Joseph Barclay | July 8, 1935 | October 22, 1965 |
Mentone, Anthony J. | October 25, 1965 | July, 1967 |
Newman, Ralph G. | August 1, 1967 | January 16, 1979 |
Hatzenbuehler, Camille | January 16, 1979 | January 23, 1981 |
Berger, Sally | January 23, 1981 | January 11, 1984 |
Lowry, James Hamilton | January 11, 1984 | January 16, 1986 |
Russell, Cannutte | January 16, 1986 | January 12, 1988 |
Compton, James W. | January 12, 1988 | June 13, 1989 |
Pritzker, Marian F. (Cindy) | September 28, 1989 | December 10, 1998 |
Thompson, Jayne Carr | September 9, 1999 | 2012 |
Rice, Linda Johnson | March 2012 |
Secretaries of the Board of Directors, Chicago Public Library, 1872-
Name: | From: | Until: |
Wickersham, William B. | 1872 | 1908 |
Wilson, Harry G. | 1908 | 1940 |
Levin, Nathan R. | 1940 (?) | 1957 |
Position known as Business Manager from 1957
Lill, Robert J. | 1957 | 1961 (?) |
Webb, Jack C. | 1961 | 1967 |
Urban, Joseph J. | 1967 | 1973 (?) |
Roseman, Benjamin | 1973 | 1975 (?) |
Furman, Joseph, L. | 1975 |
Librarians/Commissioners, Chicago Public Library, 1873-Present
Name: | From: | Until: |
Poole, William Frederick | 1873 | 1887 |
Hild, Frederick H. | 1887 | 1909 |
Legler, Henry E. | 1909 | 1917 |
Roden, Carl Bismarck | 1918 | 1950 |
Gscheidle, Gertrude E. | 1950 | 1967 |
Ladenson, Alex | 1967 | 1974 |
Reich, David L. | 1975 | 1978 |
Sager, Donald J. | 1978 | 1981 |
Rudd, Amanda S. | 1982 | 1985 |
Duff, John B. | 1986 | 1993 |
Lyons, Karen Danczak (Acting) | 1993 | 1994 |
Dempsey, Mary A. | 1994 | 2012 |
Bannon, Brian | 2012 |
Scope and Content
The Early Papers Series of the Chicago Public Library Archives document the foundation of the Library, from immediately after the 1871 fire and includes detailed information regarding the legislative process which gave authority to the city to raise taxes to maintain a public library; extremely detailed information regarding donated books; shipping information and costs of exporting the donations to the United States; lists of who donated what; and general everyday library business. The series also has information about employment matters in the Library and the construction of the new Central Library.
Arrangement
Arranged in three subseries:
- Papers of the President of the Board of Directors
- Papers of the Secretary of the Board of Directors
- Papers of the Librarian
Provenance has been maintained as far as was possible. The papers of the President, Secretary and Librarian were already distinct from each other and the papers of Secretary Wickersham were already organized into the subject breakdowns listed below. To help researchers make maximum use of this series, this subject breakdown has been copied to the other papers. Documents within each subject have been put into chronological order by the archivist. A list of subjects can be found below. Researchers should be careful to consult papers of the President, the Secretary, and the Librarian for any one topic of research.
List of subject breakdowns:
- Legislation
- British Book Donation
- German Book Donation
- Other Donations
- Bills of Lading
- Forwarding of Books (from US port to Chicago)
- Letters Relative to Donation (see also Oversize 1)
- General Library Business
- Employment
- New Library Building (Construction of the new Central Library, what is now the Cultural Center)
- Library Buildings
Related Materials
Container List
See individual subseries guides for the Papers of the President of the Board of Directors, the Papers of the Secretary of the Board of Directors and the Papers of the Librarian.