Cook Memorial Library at 100. The 1940s.

As the 1930s came to a close, Libertyville looked forward to the possibility of an expanded Cook Memorial Library. The library’s collection of 15,000 books was crammed in the first floor of the former Cook home and the structure was in need of external repairs. In 1939, the Libertyville Lions Club formed a Cook Memorial…

Cook Memorial Library at 100. The 1930s.

In late 1929, a number of Mundelein residents circulated a petition requesting a branch of the Cook Memorial Library be opened to serve residents in the western part of Libertyville Township (the western border of the township is Route 45/Lake Street in Mundelein) [1]. Space was secured at the McBride Hardware store on Maple Avenue…

Cook Memorial Public Library at 100. The rest of the 1920s.

During the Roaring Twenties, the Cook Memorial Library underwent growth and development on every front, from the building to the staff to the collection to its very organization. The two biggest changes happened in 1923: the library board hired a new librarian, and the library taxing boundaries increased to include all of Libertyville Township. Smaller…

Cook Memorial Library at 100. The Early 1920s.

From a collection of books in the homes of members of the Alpha Club in 1909, to a subscription library on a drugstore’s shelves, to a room in the village hall….the Libertyville public library would finally find a home in the former Cook residence after the death of Emily Barrows Cook in 1919. At the…