The roots of the Dixon Public Library reach back to 1872 when the firemen of Dixon Hose Company began a small subscription library. The firemen turned the library over to the city in 1895-96. In 1899, O. B. Dodge, the first president of the library board, offered to build a new building, which was formally opened to Dixon residents in early 1901. The library celebrated its 125th anniversary in May 2020, and the building its 120th, and many changes have occurred over the years. The building was remodeled in 1955 to add a children’s department and an addition was built and opened in 1969, providing the library with its present layout. An elevator was installed in 1986 and the entire building was refurbished in 1994. MORE INFO In early 2015, work began on a $1.5 million Dixon Public Library project to strengthen the bones of the turn-of221 S. Hennepin the-century stone building and its 45-year-old 815-284-7261 addition. Hours: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. In 2019, work was finished on a major overMonday thru Thursday; haul of the library’s 1900 wing, which brought 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Friday & it closer to how it looked the day it opened. The Saturday; closed Sunday project included removing a false ceiling built Online: dixongov.com/ during the 1969 expansion and doing restoralibrary.html and tion work on the walls and the ceiling in the on Facebook attic. Wiring improvements also were made. E-mail: maillibrary@dixToday, the library is home to more than onpubliclibrary.org 90,000 volumes. It’s also a member of the Rock River Libraries Consortium, which shares a catalog of more than 250,000 items available for loan. A media center, now housing 1,000 DVDs and nearly 1,000 CDs and audio books, was added in 1988. Special collections of interest include the Lincoln collection and a display of original World War I posters, as well as special works published by the library on local history. Computers, equipped with Wi-Fi and other Internet access, are available to the public. The library catalog, as well as many other resources, is available from the library’s website. In addition, a new program has expanded the definition of a lending library. “The Library of Things” allows patrons to borrow more than just books. “We should be a sharing economy; not everyone needs to own everything,” said library director Antony Deter “Things can be shared, like sewing machines, 3-D printer, stencil cutter, Wi-Fi services, DVD players, small hand tools, microscopes, telescopes, fishing rods, etc. We plan to roll it out for kids for this summer, then bring it to adults.” Library cards are free to anyone who lives within city limits, and $75 a year per household for those living outside the city limits. In addition to loaning materials, the Dixon Public Library offers reading programs for adults and children. n
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Get To Know Us: Dixon | 2022-23
