The Jackson District Library is the

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

system serving

Jackson County, Michigan Jackson County is located in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population of the Counties of the United States, county was 160,366 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Its county seat, seat of government is the city of Jackson, Mich ...

. Founded in 1978 from the merger of two local libraries, its history dates back to the formation of a library association in downtown Jackson in the 1860s. The Jackson District Library provides services with 13 branches throughout Jackson County and a bookmobile. The main branch is the Jackson Carnegie Library in downtown Jackson.

History

The Jackson Public Library dates back to the mid-1860s, with the opening of a reading room at the Jackson Young Men's Association. The reading room was only open to association members, but proved popular. The reading room became a public library in the mid-1880s, with new funding from the City of Jackson. The Jackson Public Library applied for a grant to build a new Carnegie library in 1900. Its location in downtown Jackson's Bloomfield Building had become cramped, and

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

had recently expanded the pace of his program of library construction. An initial grant of $50,000 () was made in 1901. Zelie Emerson, a member of the library committee and a personal acquaintance of Carnegie's, convinced Carnegie to provide an additional $20,000 to overcome difficulties during construction. The Jackson Carnegie Library opened in 1906, and continues in operation today. In Jackson County, demand for library services increased in the early 1900s. Library service was supported by an innovative program of the Michigan State Library, the "traveling library," which sent books by

U.S. mail The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal servi ...

to schools and private clubs in rural Michigan, including Jackson County. The Jackson County Library was founded in 1929, as the second county library system in the state. Books were made available at private businesses and schools throughout the county. A countywide vote in 1977 provided a dedicated source of

property tax A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or Wealth t ...

revenue for the city and county libraries, both of which faced issues with financials and duplication of services. With this funding secured, the Jackson Public Library and Jackson County Library merged, beginning service as the Jackson District Library in 1978. The library installed its first digital catalog in 1993, in cooperation with

Jackson Community College Jackson College is a public college in Jackson County, Michigan. Originally established as Jackson Junior College in 1928, Jackson County electors voted to reincorporate the institution as a community college district under the "Public Act 188 ...

Locations

The JDL system includes 13 locations, many of which are

adaptive reuse Adaptive reuse is the reuse of an existing building for a purpose other than that for which it was originally built or designed. It is also known as recycling and conversion. The adaptive reuse of buildings can be a viable alternative to new con ...

s of existing and historic buildings. Examples of adaptive reuse in JDL branches include the Brooklyn Branch, in a former post office; the Concord Branch, in the former Concord Opera House; and the Parma Branch, in a former

interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

station.

References

External links

* {{Authority control, qid=Q69479843 1978 establishments in Michigan Public libraries in Michigan Education in Jackson County, Michigan