Royal Oak Public Library Timeline

Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
I cleaned this up...these women are gorgeous!
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.
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Image of the library from the past.
Bookmobile
Image of the library from the past.
Image of the library from the past.

The start of our library goes back many years, to the early 1850s, when Royal Oak was a township. Dr. Brewster of Royal Oak Township let neighbors use his spare room to start a reading room, and interested residents furnished books and periodicals for “mutual exchange.”

1856
Royal Oak Township establishes a township library using penal fines collected by the courts. Care for the township library is the duty of the township clerk, and it is kept at his residence. The clerk’s wife issued books and kept records. New books are probably purchased once a year, when the penal fine money is distributed by county. 
Mid to Late 1800s
The library moves into the township hall at Main and Third street. It is open every Saturday afternoon to accommodate farmers who come in to shop.
1916
January – Royal Oak School Superintendent Frank Hendry gives a talk to the Royal Oak Woman’s Club, encouraging them to help establish a public library. 
April – Royal Oak Township residents vote ¼ mill in taxes to establish a public library under Michigan Public Act 164. 
September – The library commission rents a room on the second floor of the Royal Oak Savings Bank at the northwest corner of Main and Fourth Street.
December – The library commission hires the first trained librarian, Elizabeth V. Briggs of Romeo, MI. Her first task is to sort through 3,500 books. 
1917
February – The library opens to the public, with no chairs or tables for readers. 
1920
The card catalog is completed. 
1921
The City of Royal Oak is incorporated.
1922
January – Newly established city passes an ordinance providing for the establishment and maintenance of a city library. 
During the fall the City purchases the library from the township, and the doors to the city library are opened with 7,694 books on the shelf. 
1924
March – The library moves to larger quarters on the ground floor of 418 S. Main between Mason’s Restaurant and Levitt’s Auto Accessories. It is a long narrow storefront with poor ventilation and little natural light. The collection has grown to 13,000 volumes. 
1928
January – The library moves 18,425 volumes to the new Washington Square Building at Fourth and Lafayette where it lives for eight years. Small library stations are opened in several schools and stores, a Reference Service department is started, and vacation reading clubs begin.
1936
March – The library opens at 300 S. Main, at the southwest corner of S. Main and Third Street. The former National Bank Building offered 786 square feet for the library to house 26,884 books.
1941
The second floor of building is opened as a children's room.
1963
April – The current library building, at 222 E. Eleven Mile Road, has its grand opening, with 80,000 volumes.
Late 1980s
Entire collection is entered into a computer database.
1996
The old card catalog leaves the library. 
2003
November – Royal Oak voters approve a $1.3 million millage to fund a major renovation.
2006
February – The library reopens a more beautiful and spacious home for its collection.