Library History

This renovated area is the hub and jumping off point for readers looking for the newest books that we have.

New furniture, new shelving, and the extension of the cafe dining.

Since 1971, Friends have donated more than $1.9 million to the library.

Cafe gets a makeover with new flooring, seating and decor.

Library celebrates 150 years of serving the community.

The gallery was remodeled to increase visibility, introduce an art creation space, and showcase the increasing permanent art collection.

In March, the spread of the COVID-19 virus had grown to pandemic proportions necessitating the mandatory closure of non-essential businesses. The library sought unique ways to maintain its availability to the community during this time.

Includes a year-round sunroom, courtyard and an outdoor amphitheater.

The customer plaza is renovated with large print books moving up front, along with the copy center.

Learning center is updated with new flooring and a new commitment to learning.

January of 2002 was the grand reopening of the newly expanded library. First Lady Laura Bush, a former teacher and librarian, was on hand for the festivities.

Award winning architect Michael Graves provided the design for the exterior and interior of the building.

The new expansion renovated the 65,000 square foot existing building and added 100,000 square feet of new space. The building’s design is a showpiece for the town, a dynamic space that is welcoming to the public and reflects the progressive nature of the institution.

The Booktique was located in the library’s portion of the Medical Arts building at 10th and Horne.

Along with 50 years of service, Bob and Hazel Lingo presented $62,000 to the library to purchase a new bookmobile. The bookmobile carried 4,500 items and made 25 stops in the city and county.

A November ballot asked whether a countywide library district should be formed to expand the library’s tax base to include county residents. New statistics showed non-Topekans used library more than those who pay for it.

The voters of the city and county approved a new Topeka and Shawnee County Library District. The library’s name changed to the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library.

The library joins the computer age. The card catalog and the circulation system was automated. There was no longer drawers of catalog cards; all information was available from a computer terminal.

Bob and Hazel Lingo give a gift of $50,000 to the library for expansion of its children’s section. The Lingo Story Room is the result of that gift.

The remodeling and expansion program was completed. An open house was held on Sunday, January 4. A two-story addition was built on the south and extensive remodeling done in the rest of the library. Included in the work was a 200-seat auditorium, a Gallery of Fine Arts and the Topeka Room furnished by the Friends of the Library.

Formed to help with the bond issue for the bill passed by the legislature to levy a one-mill tax for five years to support the cost of expanding and remodeling the library building. The referendum passed on August 4, 1970.

The first officers of the Friends group were W. F. Hardesty, president; John Ripley, vice president; Mrs. Mabel Moses, secretary; and Glenn Swogger, treasurer.

A hundred years after the Ladies Library Association was founded in 1870, the library celebrates the 100th anniversary of the library.

More than 30,000 signatures were received in the effort to save the original library, but time would not save the building. In 1961 it was torn down and the site cleared and leveled.

On December 14, 1953 the new library building opens on the grounds of Westlawn Park.

A Chevrolet coupe and converted house trailer became the first traveling branch. The inside walls of the trailer were lined with shelves that could hold 1,200 books; at the front was an L-shaped desk for the librarian and cupboards for supplies. The trailer was heated with a kerosene stove and there were colorful curtains at the windows. The library on wheels made 10 stops each week. It was an unqualified success.

Because of lack of funds, and the inability of the board of education to help with expenses, the branch libraries are forced to close. Topeka once again was limited to the central building on the statehouse grounds.

A home at 11th and Mulvane is gifted to the library by the estate of David W. Mulvane. After hard work and fundraising, the home was turned into the children's library.

Governor Ben Paulen, acting for a legislative commission, served notice on the library to vacate statehouse grounds site. Plans for a new site and building, with voter approval, got underway. The vote failed and the library remained on statehouse grounds.

A branch library system was established in cooperation with the Topeka school system. By 1932 there were branches at Curtis and Holliday junior high schools and Washington, Lafayette, Randolph and Gage Park elementary schools.

Edward Wilder gathered treasures in Europe as the foundation for the library’s fine arts collection. Wilder donated a splendid collection of chinaware, glassware and pictures .

Edward Wilder, Secretary-Treasurer of the Santa Fe Railroad and President of the Library Board, convinced the Union Pacific Railroad and the Santa Fe Railroad to jointly fund a building for the library on the State House grounds.

The grand dedication of this building was held on a “balmy” night in April 1883.

A committee was appointed to prepare a constitution and bylaws. This historic meeting took place in a second floor lodge room over the J.W. Davis Dry Goods Store, on the east side of Kansas Avenue, between 7th and 8th streets.

Topeka in the 1870s was little more than a frontier town striving to survive. 1870 brought financial panic and a grasshopper plague worse than any could remember. Approximately 8,000 people lived in the area around the current downtown area.