Washburn Library

Washburn Library
Washburn Library viewed from the northeast
Former names	Washburn Community Library
General information
Type	Branch library
Location	5244 Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Coordinates	44°54′26″N 93°17′19″W / 44.90722°N 93.28861°W / 44.90722; -93.28861
Opened	September 1970
Renovated	1990
Owner	Hennepin County Library

Washburn Library is a public library in the Hennepin County Library system. The library opened in September 1970. The library had 18,000 books when it was created. It is the main library in Southwest Minneapolis. The library was named after William D. Washburn.

History

The Washburn Library was part of the original Minneapolis Public Library.

The library was more popular than expected. Staff needed books from other libraries to keep stocked. In the first year, 273,000 books were checked out. This was the most out of any Minneapolis Public Library at the time.

The Gratia Countryman Library

Before the Washburn Library was built, another library was proposed for Southwest Minneapolis.

A Southwest Minneapolis Library was proposed in 1959. It was supposed to be the first neighborhood library since 1931. It was for 30,000 people who only had a Bookmobile.

The name of Gratia Countryman came from the most respected leader of the Minneapolis Public Library.

Updates to the library

In 1989, the library was the buisiest neighborhood library in Minneapolis. It needed to be expanded to help for the quickly growing population.

In 1990, The library was expanded by over 28%. It added more use for children after-school. This completed technology that the library had needed.

In 2014, new furniture, shelves, public computers, and more electrical outlets were added to the building.

References