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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate the Franklin Park Public
4Library on the completion of its first 125 years of operation;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, In the closing months of the 19th century, a
7group of residents of Franklin Park, mostly women, decided
8that their Illinois community deserved to have a library; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The Franklin Park Ladies Literary and Social
10Club, later renamed the Franklin Park Women's Club, asked
11their neighbors to bring books to Wasson's store at 9602
12Franklin Avenue, and the first book was donated on April 15,
131899; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The small store, which also sold ice cream,
15cigars, and other goods, was the first home of the Franklin
16Park Library for more than a decade; from 1916 until 1932, the
17library was moved to other locations; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The Great Depression was a threat to the survival
19of the Franklin Park Library, and in 1932, it suspended its
20operations for four years until 1936; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, With help from the New Deal, the Franklin Park
2Women's Club reopened the Franklin Park Library in 1936;
3control of the library moved to the Village of Franklin Park in
41941, but it continued to move through a series of municipal
5and private-sector locations; and
 
6    WHEREAS, During the 1960s and 1970s, the people of
7Franklin Park demonstrated by referendum their increasing
8support for the Franklin Park Library, authorizing a property
9tax for its support in 1962 and approving its promotion to the
10status of a Special Service District in 1970, which made it
11possible to construct a new, free-standing library; and
 
12    WHEREAS, The current Franklin Park Public Library was
13dedicated on April 1, 1984, and it was then expanded with the
14addition of a children's library space and two meeting rooms
15and dedicated on January 29, 1989; and
 
16    WHEREAS, As of 2024, the Franklin Park Public Library's
17collection exceeds 111,000 volumes and items of audiovisual
18material, including items in the library's collection of local
19history; and
 
20    WHEREAS, This successful collection dates back to the time
21of President William McKinley; therefore, be it
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
2HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
3we congratulate the Franklin Park Public Library on the
4completion of its first 125 years of operation; and be it
5further
 
6    RESOLVED, That we hope that the Franklin Park Public
7Library continues to be a bulwark of the community, the
8children of Franklin Park, and the people of Franklin Park for
9at least another 125 years; and be it further
 
10    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
11presented to Franklin Park Public Library Director Vanessa
12Morrison, who has served as the director since 2023.