We're Celebrating 60 years in 2020!

Join us as we celebrate our patrons, volunteers, and the Library's 60 year history with a series of special events, programs and concerts throughout 2020.
Be sure to visit our website at www.rmlib.org for updates on all the festivities.
Kickoff Celebration - Sunday, February 16 at 2:00 p.m.
Come celebrate with the Library as we kickoff a yearlong 60th Anniversary Celebration.
Be entertained as Matt and Cynthia Gruel perform their heartwarming cabaret followed by cake and refreshments.

Rolling Meadows Library History and Timeline

Around 1950, real estate developer Kimball Hill purchased 537 acres of gently rolling land south of Arlington Park Racetrack with the intention of turning it into a community of affordable two- and three-bedroom homes in what he aptly named "Project Rolling Meadows." Ultimately, he secured the rights to a further 663 acres to develop a total of 1,200 acres. The first floor plans for these homes appeared in the Chicago Tribune in late 1950.
In the spring of 1953, against protests from neighboring communities, the Cook County Zoning Board approved the housing development after homebuyers attended a planning meeting with their families wearing "Rolling Meadows" badges to support their new community.
Construction in Rolling Meadows began on July 21, 1953, with an average of 20 homes per week. By the end of the year, 144 families lived in RM.
As Rolling Meadows continued to grow, Kimball Hill suggested that the community incorporate. After a majority vote of residents in favor of incorporation, County Judge Otto Kerner signed the incorporation papers and Rolling Meadows became an official city on February 26, 1955. John Northcote became the first mayor of Rolling Meadows.
The police department formed in 1955 with Tom Ullock as the first police chief. In 1957 the city had its own water system with Jim McFeggan as the first public works director. The fire department separated from the Palatine Fire Protection District in 1958 with Clarence Barnhardt as the first fire chief. The park district formed in 1958 with John Woods as the first park board president and Eugene Campion as acting director of parks.
Rolling Meadows residents were now eager to form a public library. On June 26, 1958, Ann Frasz placed an ad in the Daily Herald regarding an upcoming meeting she was hosting to discuss the formation of a library.
On July 10, 1958, library consultant Laura Langstone from the Illinois State Library in Springfield met with residents Ann Frasz, Barbara Evenson, Bea O'Halloran, Eunice Semple, and Ruth Vogeler to discuss what was involved to create a library.
On July 24, 1958, Ann Frasz scheduled a meeting to organize the Friends of the Library. She, along with other volunteers and the Lions Club, collected over 5,000 books to start the library's circulating collection. Ann Frasz (president), Helen Macior (vice president), Mrs. Bernard Trepte (secretary), Mrs. Eugene LiPuma (treasurer), Mrs. David Speck, Mrs. Joseph Kassell, and Mrs. Andrew Polaske were elected as the first officers of the Friends for a six-month term.
In January 1959, Barbara Evenson (president), Bea O'Halloran (vice president), Ruth Vogeler (secretary), Eunice Semple (treasurer), Mrs. Fred Witt, Mrs. George Keough, and Ann Frasz were elected as officers of the Friends for a year-long term.
In February 1959, the city council adopted an ordinance creating a public library and the first six trustees appointed to the library board were Ilancie Blane (president), Donna O'Malley (secretary), George Hamm, Rose MacDuff, Ray Walker, and Thea Weger. In March, Howard Mehn (treasurer), Mrs. Edward Fisher, and Irene Wever were appointed to the board. After Mrs. Fisher resigned, Eleanor Keller became the ninth library board trustee.
The building chosen for the first library was a house at 3300 Meadow Drive, which had previously served as the Kimball Hill and Associates Sales office. It was centrally located and within walking distance of Kimball Hill and Jonas E. Salk Schools, making it an ideal location. In 1959, Kimball Hill offered the building for library use in a “rent to own” arrangement, where monthly rent payments would be applied toward the principal and interest if the building were eventually purchased. (The first City Hall was in another Kimball Hill home at 2207 Campbell Street.)
Tax monies for the library were not available until the summer of 1960, so to begin library service sooner, the library board created a city-wide raffle (with a stereo radio and phonograph as the grand prize), with the Boy Scouts delivering two books of raffle tickets to each home. The raffle was a success, raising $1,300 - enough money to pay the library’s rent and operating costs for six months.
In June 1959, members of the Friends went door to door throughout the city, collecting $1 per household, and ultimately raised over $1,000 for the library. All donors received membership in the Friends of the Library.
In December 1959, the city council voted to purchase the building on Meadow Drive based on the overwhelming enthusiasm and dedication of the library board and volunteers. Renovations began to convert the single-family home into a library: The building's garage held the fiction and nonfiction collections while the kitchen held the children's collection. The breezeway was used as a check out area. The bedrooms were used as the librarian's office and the book storage and processing areas. Materials that needed to be shelved were stored in the bathtub.
During the winter before the library opened, Norma Hill, a resident with library experience, volunteered to organize and supervise the sorting and processing of all the library materials in storage. Alma Mehn and Barbara Firszt took home boxes of books to organize and catalog. After several months, with the help of additional volunteers, their combined efforts had the library's basic collection in order. Civic groups continued to raise funds with membership drives, white elephant sales, and going door to door. Furniture, draperies, and lumber were donated, and the Jaycees and Lions Club volunteered to build bookshelves.
The library on 3300 Meadow Drive opened to the public on February 29, 1960 (Leap Year Day). Volunteers ran the library from 2:30-5:00 p.m. and 7:00-9:00 p.m. on Wednesday and Fridays and from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Originally, library cards were issued to families, not individuals. Almost every family in the community had a library card.
In October 1960, after the library's tax money became available, the library board appointed Ellen Carver as the first full-time librarian. Norma Hill, Alma Mehn, and other volunteers continued to help run the library.
On January 2, 1964, Virginia Connell became the head librarian when Ellen Carver became children’s librarian.
At the library’s fourth anniversary party on March 1, 1964, there was an official burning of the mortgage, which had been paid off sooner than anticipated after Kimball Hill released the city from paying interest on the loan.
After just a couple years in the “library in a house,” the board noted that library usage was increasing and creating a serious lack of space for patrons, staff, and library materials, and that a building expansion or branch library would be necessary to meet the needs of the community, but that a new, larger library building would be needed down the road. In July 1965, city planning consultants toured the now crowded library facilities on Meadow Drive and suggested a referendum to fund a new library building.
In 1966, after several suggestions for a new library site were suggested, the library board chose the site on Martin Lane and Pheasant Drive due to its central location and close proximity to the existing Meadow Drive library, which would ease the moving of library materials from the old location to the new one. On May 17, 1966, a majority of residents voted in favor of constructing a new library on Martin Lane.
Groundbreaking for the new library took place on December 11, 1966. Children were invited to each shovel a spoonful of dirt to help dig the foundation. Mayor Bill Miseska, Kimball Hill, and Library Board President Elvin Byrom participating in the groundbreaking with a gilded shovel.
The new library building opened in its present location at 3110 Martin Drive on October 31, 1967 (Halloween). To help with moving costs and to invite residents to have hands-on participation in the library move, for one month prior to the opening date, patrons were encouraged to check out ten books from the old library on Meadow Drive and to return them to the new library building on Martin Lane. Patrons returning their ten books were greeted by Mayor Roland Meyer, Head Librarian Virginia Connell, and Library Board President Eugene O'Sullivan.
The new library building was dedicated on June 2, 1968 with Dr. Edward Gilbert, Superintendent of District 214, as the ceremony’s keynote speaker.
In 1970, the library joined fourteen other libraries of the North Suburban Library System in a pilot reciprocal borrowing program, where a library card from one library can be used at all other libraries participating in the program. This program was later expanded to include all member libraries of the North Suburban Library System.
A lower level was added to the Martin Lane building in 1972, creating a designated children's area for the community's youngest patrons. The entire building was remodeled the following year in 1973.
The first computer terminal for patron use was made available in 1975.
In 1977, the library received the Illinois Library Association’s All-Star Library Award.
The library purchased additional land in 1977 in preparation for future library expansion.
In 1979, after four years of research, interviews, writing, and production, the library published Esther Perica’s history of Rolling Meadows, They Took the Challenge, to coincide with the city’s 25th anniversary. Her book chronicles the humble beginnings, booming growth, and continued progress of the city through the active participation of its founders and residents, many of whom provided Perica with stories, facts, and photographs from their own personal experiences and archives to add to her narrative.
In December 1981, the library began using a computerized system for the checkout of library materials.
By 1986, the library was again in need of additional space, and it was decided to expand the existing 14,000 square-foot building on Martin Lane. Groundbreaking took place on May 4, 1986, and during construction the library relocated to a temporary location at 2200 Hicks Road.
The newly constructed and expanded building at 3110 Martin Lane opened to the public on August 10, 1987, although the Youth Services Department on the Lower Level flooded eight days later, and was dedicated on November 22, 1987. The expansion added the West Wing and upper level to the library's footprint, now totaling 43,000 square feet.
In order to provide more patron parking, land was purchased on the east side of the library on October 26, 1987 to construct the east parking lot.
By 1988, with the expanded use of computers and technology, the library began favoring an online system instead of the traditional card catalog system for cataloging the library’s collection.
Construction began in late 1989 on an access road from Kirchoff Road to the library's west parking lot.
In June 1994, the library left a consortium of local libraries to become a standalone library system with its own integrated library system (ILS), hosting its collection database and staff database software in-house.
In 1996, the library created a local area network to link computers and other devices within the library.
The library was named Library of the Year by the North Suburban Library System in 2002 from among its 650 member libraries.
The first annual Dr. Seuss Celebration was held by Youth Services in 2002. Every year, selections of Dr. Seuss's stories are read aloud by celebrity readers, and children are invited to participate in games and crafts based on characters from the books.
The main and upper levels of the library were remodeled in 2002, changing the layout of the main lobby, West Wing, and East Wing.
Following the 2002 renovations, the Friends Book Shop opened in its current location next to the Circulation Desk. For several years prior to the opening of the Book Shop, the Friends offered books for sale year-round on shelving in the lobby. The newly designated Book Shop space allowed the Friends to expand the amount of books, music, and movies available for purchase year-round.
In October of 2008, the library changed its URL to www.rmlib.org from www.rolling-meadows.lib.il.us.
On February 28, 2010, the library celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a variety of entertainment, raffles, giveaways, and treats for patrons. The a cappella rock 'n roll group Ac Rock held a concert in the Community Room while a trio of musicians played in the Readers’ Advisory area. Canvas tote bags were given out at the Circulation Desk, and patrons could enter to win raffles for an iPod Nano, gift cards, and commemorative flash drives. Children were encouraged to take part in a quiz of famous children’s book characters. The main floor display cases highlighted major events in the library’s 50-year history. After speeches from special guests including library directors, library board trustees, members of the Friends, city mayors, and others who had made a significant contribution to the library’s history, everyone enjoyed a piece of a book-shaped anniversary cake.
The entire lower level of the library was renovated in the spring of 2010, changing the layout of the Youth Services Department.
The library joined social media by creating Facebook and Twitter accounts on May 3, 2011, later adding a Pinterest account. Youth Services and Teen Scene added Instagram accounts.
The Mary Hart Garden was planted on the east side of the library's entrance in the summer of 2011 to honor her more than 29 years of service as a library board trustee, including 20 years as board treasurer, as well as her love of gardening.
In March of 2012, the library began offering Wi-Fi services to patrons.
The Legacy Project, started in the spring of 2012, was created to honor individuals from the past or present who made significant contributions to the Rolling Meadows Library through volunteer work. Honorees photographs are displayed in the library's main lobby, as well as displayed digitally on the library’s website and in the Friends' Book Shop, along with information about each honoree's volunteer service.
On September 23, 2013 a drive-up book return and drop-off lane were added to the east parking lot.
Youth Services launched a blog, "Our Favorite Things," on September 25, 2013 that highlights staff members' top picks from the library's collection of youth books, movies, and music.
Readers’ Advisory launched a blog, “RA at Rolling Meadows Library,” on May 14, 2015 that highlights staff members' selections from the library's collection of adult books, movies, and music, as well as from the teen (young adult) collection.
In the spring of 2016, the library unveiled “RML On The Go,” a free app available for Android and Apple mobile devices. The app allows patrons to access their library accounts, search the library catalog, place holds, checkout downloadable materials, use library databases, explore library programming, and follow the library's social media accounts.
A bike path running along Salt Creek from Kirchoff Road to the library's west parking lot opened in June of 2016.
In October of 2016, the movable shelving behind Circulation and the Friends Book Shop was removed to create a larger book donation sorting area for the Friends of the Library.
In the summer of 2017, the West Wing Expansion added 1,625 square feet to the library with two small group meeting rooms and the Garden Lounge, which has open seating, a wall-mounted fireplace, a vending machine, and mobile device charging stations.
In the summer of 2019, the North Expansion added 1,100 square feet to the library, creating more storage space for Friends' book sale donations and modifying the staff entrance due to changes in the American with Disabilities Act (ADA).
On February 16, 2020, the library began a yearlong celebration of its 60th Anniversary with the Kickoff Celebration Concert "Love and Marriage: Musical Theatre Style" with Matt and Cynthia Gruel.