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…

Women of Cook Library

We celebrate Women’s History Month and Cook Library’s Centennial by looking at the women who were key to the founding of the library and its early days. Local History Librarian Jenny Barry shares the stories of Emily Barrows Cook, Mabel MacGuffin, Norma Lee Peck, Clara Colby, Laura Taylor, August Lovell, and more. Keep checking the…