History
In July of 1967, a community needs study was made in Oak Creek with the result being a proposal for establishment of a public library. The Friends of the Oak Creek Public Library was formed in March 1969, through the efforts of a concerned neighborhood group known as Edgewood Citizens Council (ECCO), a civic minded group organized to promote the common good through education, discussion and active participation.
Largely through efforts of the Friends group and the Library Board, citizens of Oak Creek voted their approval of the referendum that the city sell bonds to construct and equip a municipal library.
During 1970, $400,000.00 was budgeted for construction and the architectural firm of Zarse and Zarse, Inc., of Oak Creek was approved by the city council as architects. The library was to be "a civic center addition to include library facilities and meeting rooms", to be placed north of the city hall complex.
Specifications were completed in 1971 providing for a 14,850 square foot structure, including a 500 square foot display area and a meeting room to accommodate 100 persons. Bids on construction were solicited through late 1971 and the ground breaking ceremonies took place on Monday, October 4, with a tentative completion date of July, 1972.
November 6, 1972 saw the grand opening of the Oak Creek Public Library, which had approximately 9,000 books and 150 periodicals. It was open 58 hours per week.
During the past three decades, the Oak Creek Public Library has grown from its humble beginning to serve not only the 30,856 residents of Oak Creek - over 50% of whom have library cards - but also patrons throughout Milwaukee County through its membership in the Milwaukee County Federated Library System. Our materials collection now numbers approximately 86,000 with yearly circulation in the 270,000 range, and includes not only books but DVDs, compact discs, videos, CD-ROMs, audio tapes, or in other words - something for everyone!