The Rochester Public Library is a

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in Olmsted County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. It is located along rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a popul ...

. It is a member of Southeastern Libraries Cooperating, the southeast Minnesota library region. It is the largest

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 ...

in an 11-county

consortium A consortium () is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a ...

National Medal

In May 2018, Rochester Public Library was given the

National Medal for Museum and Library Service The National Medal for Museum and Library Service is an award given annually by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to American libraries and museums with outstanding service to their communities. The IMLS refers to the medal as " ...

, the highest honor for institutions that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities. It was one of only five libraries nationally to receive this distinction.

History

In 1895, the Rochester Public Library was officially established, led by local attorney Burt W. Eaton. A local library society was confirmed by the city council on April 29, 1895. The library was first set up in the City Hall building, and by the end of that year it contained 10,744

volumes Volume is a measure of regions in three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). The ...

(according to its first-ever Annual Report). In 1966, a

bookmobile A bookmobile, or mobile library, is a vehicle designed for use as a library. They have been known by many names throughout history, including traveling library, library wagon, book wagon, book truck, library-on-wheels, and book auto service. Boo ...

service was created, holding 5,000 volumes at a cost of about $22,000. The current Library location opened on October 4, 1995. The library routinely organize several events for the public which routinely includes Book Club, Origami club, Writers Club, Movie night, and several art classes for the kids. One Sunday, September 22, 2019, the library's water heater broke, spilling thousands of gallons throughout the building from the third floor mechanical space. Restoration of the infrastructure was almost complete in March 2020 when the library closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The library started opening seven days a week, year round, starting in June 2021.https://www.rplmn.org/about-us/about-rpl/hours-location

Bike Share Program

Rochester Public Library offers Bike share program for its members and visitors to borrow the bike for a day or week. In 2019, RPL has also started electric

cargo bike There have been many human powered vehicles designed and constructed specifically for transporting loads since their earliest appearance in the history of the bicycle, 20th century. They are referred to variously depending on the number of wheel ...

. This service was discontinued after the 2022 season.

References

External links

Official Website

Online Library Catalog

Southeastern Libraries Cooperating
Southeastern Libraries Cooperating Buildings and structures in Rochester, Minnesota Education in Olmsted County, Minnesota 1895 establishments in Minnesota Library buildings completed in 1995 {{Library-stub