Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library


The Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library is a public library located in Topeka, Kansas, United States. It serves all of Shawnee County, Kansas with the exception of the Rossville, Kansas and Silver Lake, Kansas townships. The Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library is a municipal taxing district authorized by Kansas law. It is governed by a board of trustees consisting of ten members.
The library offers many services to the public including homebound delivery, bookmobile services, a homework help center, public computers, meeting rooms, extensive programming, the Alice C. Sabatini Gallery and the Millennium Cafe.

History

The Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library was founded in 1870 when the Ladies' Library Association met to start a library. It was not until March 1871 that the doors of the library finally opened in the Keith & Meyers Dry Goods Store. In 1883, the library opened its first permanent building. Edward Wilder, Secretary-Treasurer of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and President of the Library Board, convinced the Union Pacific Railroad and the AT&SFRR to jointly fund a building for the library on the State House grounds.
In 1953, the library opened its new building at the corner of 10th and Washburn. In 1970, the library expanded at its current location in celebration of its centennial. In 1996, voters approved a $23 million expansion project. Michael Graves was retained by the architectural firm to be the design architect. A groundbreaking took place in 1998 for the expansion. The library opened its doors on January 12, 2002.
; Former directors
Former directors include Horace Moses, James Marvin and David L. Leamon. The current chief executive officer is Gina Millsap. The library's auditorium is named after James Marvin, and the library's Circulation Lobby is named after David Leamon.
; Controversies
In February 2009, the library board voted to restrict minors from accessing four sexually themed books. After public protest and controversy over the decision, the library board voted in April 2009 to return the books to the shelves without restriction.

Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees is composed of three county appointees, and seven city appointees: