Institutional Member Spotlight - Berwyn Public Library
May 5, 2025
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Our latest Institutional Member Spotlight is on the Berwyn Public Library located in Berwyn, Illinois.
Library's History
Before the City of Berwyn was officially established, there was already a Berwyn Library. The first lending library began in 1894, operating out of the home of Charles E. Piper, a resident and co-founder of Berwyn. After outgrowing that space, the library moved into a dry goods store in 1901. However, as demand grew, the space and the store owner's time became insufficient, leading the library to go into hiatus.
In 1921, the Berwyn Women’s Club raised $100 to start a library for children. What began as twice-weekly quiet rooms evolved into a full reading room for children, filled with donated books. When children expressed a desire to take the books home, a checkout system was introduced. Soon, adults also requested books, prompting the Women’s Club to donate additional funds to purchase current adult fiction for a rental library. By charging two cents per day, they raised more revenue to buy additional titles.
In 1922, the Berwyn Women’s Club reignited the need for a public library. A referendum was placed on the ballot in 1923 and passed by a 2-to-1 margin. With their petition and campaign efforts, the Berwyn City Council established a “Public Library and Reading Room” on November 18, 1924, which was to be governed by a nine-member board appointed by the Mayor.
Over the years, the Berwyn Public Library has had several locations to accommodate its growing needs. In 1930, the City of Berwyn established three library branches, though these were relocated multiple times. In 1940, the Central Branch moved to the basement of the City Hall building, where it remained until its closure in 1982. The North and South branches found more permanent homes after the 1960 referendum, which funded the construction of two new branches. After the Central Branch closed, the North and South branches began offering more specialized services to reduce duplication of materials. The North Branch became a reference and nonfiction library, while the South Branch focused on children's services. While this division of services helped avoid overlap, it also made it more difficult for residents to access the full range of materials and services.
The idea of a single central library in Berwyn dates back to 1954. The goal was to establish one centralized location to reduce duplication of materials and services, ultimately improving the library’s ability to serve the community. In 1992, a referendum was proposed to Berwyn residents to build a new central library facility. However, the proposal lacked support from many community groups, and the referendum was defeated. As the North and South branches continued to deteriorate and failed to meet ADA compliance standards, a second referendum was put forward in 1993. Unfortunately, this attempt was also unsuccessful.
In 1994, an office building on the edge of the city became available for purchase. Although the hexagonal-shaped office building would require structural renovations to become a library, the City and the Library Board saw it as a viable solution. The old branches closed their doors for good on April 27, 1996. On June 10, 1996, the Berwyn Public Library officially moved into its permanent home, where it remains today.
Mission Statement
Celebrating Diversity in a welcoming space that fosters lifelong learning, collaboration, and enjoyment.
Patrons Served Annually
In 2023, we 68,848 patrons visit the library. Additionally, we have over 3000 people attend offsite programs.
Departments
The library has nine service departments. Administration, Adult/Teen Services, Circulation, Collection Management, Maintenance, Community Engagement, Reference, Youth Services and IT.
The library also has several standing and shot term committees. Our standing committee include a Staff Activities Committee, a Check it out Challenge Committee (which is a monthly program we run for the patrons where each month they have a different reading challenge to complete), and a social media committee. Other committee meet to plan specific events. These include the Summer Reading Challenge Committee, the Local Authors Committee, the Mini Golf Committee and the Fairy Tale Ball Committee. We are also in the beginning stages of forming a translation committee to standardize our flyers and publicity in both English and Spanish.
Staff Member Who’s Worked at The Library The Longest
The staff member who has worked here the longest is our Youth Services Manager, Kathi Behrendt. Kathi is the only current staff member who previously worked at the three former branches. She loves working with children and loves her community. She has worked here longer than many of you have been alive.
Four current staff members worked in the branch libraries (which closed in 1996) as well. Verna Austen is the Reference Associate and she worked at the North Branch; Deborah Bolda is the Collection Management Manager, and she worked at both the North and South Branches; Barbara Lloyd is the Acquisitions Clerk, and she worked at the North Branch; and Tammy Sheedy, Library Director, worked at both the North and South Branch.
Newest Staff Member
The newest staff member is Andrea Ocasio, who was hired in September of 2024. Andrea works as a Youth Services Assistant and is a breath of fresh air for the Library. She has such a friendly, outgoing personality and is adaptable and accommodating with patrons and staff.
Why Did You Become an ILA Institutional Member?
We have been an ILA Institutional Member for as long as I can remember. Being a member of ILA opens up so many opportunities for a Library. Staff have access to conferences such as the Illinois Library Association Annual Conference, and the Reaching Forward Conferences. Other training opportunities are always available with the ILA Noon Network. My Board of Trustees especially like the Trustee Day at the ILA Annual Conference, and the Library Trustee Forum Webinars. Many of the Board Trustees take advantage of these training opportunities.
Fun Facts About the Library
We celebrated our centennial anniversary in 2024! We also have been designated an official Monarch Waystation by the National Wildlife Foundation. Our building is in the shape of a hexagon.
Popular Events/Programs with Patrons
Our most popular events include our annual Summer Reading Challenge Kickoff event. Additionally, our annual Mini-golf after dark program allows patrons to play mini golf in the Library. This program is attended by families, seniors and even couples on dates! Another of our most popular programs is our annual local authors event. When we started the event three years ago, we had 20 local authors on site to sell their books and network with other authors and the public.
For this year’s event, we had to cap registration at 50, and still have authors who are interested in attending. Our patrons also appreciate our outdoor summer concert events. Started after the pandemic to support our marketing campaign “I didn’t know the Library did that”, we have had bands such as American English, Lucky Diaz, The Boy Band and Landon James, a local Elvis impersonator.
By far, our most popular event is our annual Fairy Tale Ball. This will be our 16th year hosting this event. Initially, we hosted this event in the Library building. We would transform the Library into a Fairy Tale land, complete with entertainment, crafts and staff in costume. We would average around 500 attendees, most dressed in adorable costumes.
During the pandemic, we wanted to continue this event, so we made it a drive thru event at our local high school. We had over 400 cars participate! The success of the outdoor event, and the ease of set-up and take down, showed us that we needed a new site.
By partnering with the Berwyn Park District, we now are able to host our event in a beautiful outdoor setting better suited for the event. We are now averaging 1500-2000 attendees for our event, and it is the most anticipated event of the year. This year our theme will be The Wizard of Oz.
iREAD Summer Reading Programs
Latest Library JobLine Listings
