History of the Library

The Steeleville Reading Center was established in 1971 under the sponsorship of the Beta Sigma Phi Sorority and with the financial support of the Village of Steeleville. A referendum was passed in 1983 which allowed for the establishment of a public library as well as a board of directors. Mayor Gerald Zacheis and the Village Board graciously agreed to continue funding the library until the fall of 1985 when tax money became available and the Library Board assumed operations as well as fiscal responsibility.

On November 3, 1992, another referendum was passed creating the Steeleville Area Public Library District. The new district now encompasses the Village of Steeleville, the Village of Percy and the surrounding countryside.

Four Library Directors have served at the facility: Hazel Williamson: 1971 to 1975; Eileen Tegtmeyer from 1975 to June 30, 2004; Mildred Dobyns from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2009, and Christine Kamprath from September 2009 to the present.

The following statement appears under Section II of the Long Range Goals adopted March 18, 1996: "In ten years, be moved into larger area of operations for Steeleville Library." This goal has been achieved: in January 2008 the new library opened its doors to the public. The timetable leading up to this achievement was as follows:

• 2004/2005 - Numerous individuals discussed the possibility of constructing a new public library on school property.
• February 2006 - The Library Board voted to commit $5,000 on a yearly basis until the balance of a loan for the purpose of constructing a new library building is paid off.
• March 2006 - Prior Board member Frank Wilke shared preliminary sketches for a new library building. Mayor Michael Armstrong advised that the Town Board is committed to participate in the building and funding of a new library; a commitment from a school district was pending.
• June 2006 - A grant of $150,000 was received from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Council to be used for the construction of a new library building
• September 2006 - The Library Board voted to proceed with plans to build a new library jointly with the Village of Steeleville and the Steeleville Community Unit School District.
• October 2006 - The Library Board voted to approve the Intergovernmental Agreement for financing the Construction of New Public Library within the Village of Steeleville, Randolph County, Illinois.
• February 2007 - The Library Board voted to approve the Intergovernmental Cooperation Agreement between the Steeleville Area Public Library District and the Steeleville School District.
• Bids based on plans submitted by Mevert Professional Associates were opened on February 27, 2007; contract was awarded to the lowest bidder, Kellerman Brothers.
• March 2007 - Ground was broken for the new building; estimated completion date was August 24, 2007. The Steeleville Area Public Library is to be the first public library built on school property outside of the school building that houses the school's library materials.
• January 2008 - Open House at the new library was held January 6, 2008 with approximately 200 persons in attendance. The new library opened to the public January 7, 2008. Member of the Board of Trustees at this time were Carolyn Bert, Mary Lynn Gerlach, Melinda Grothaus, Nancy Koopman, Sherry Lindner, Cheryn Sutton, and Mary Tretter.

Fiscal Year ending June 2009
After one and one-half years in the new building, the board is proud to report a significant increase in circulation and extensive use of the new facility by St, Marks, public grade school, and high school classes. Most notable is the "buddy system" whereby a student and a senior citizen are paired together to assist each other in understanding/operating all materials/technologies available in the library. Many of the district's senior citizens have taken this opportunity to learn how to use the computer.

Fiscal Year Ending June 2010
We continue to see growth in patron numbers and increased usage of the library by public school classes. Bi-weekly staff meetings have been initiated and have greatly enhanced communication between staff members. During the year we moved existing shelving and purchased new shelving to create a video section and improve the easy reader and juvenile sections of the library. The Teen Room was reorganized into a research/ reference area, making it more useful to students doing homework. The Shawnee Library System was dissolved at the end of June 2011 and, effective July 1, 2011, merged with three other regional library systems to form the Illinois Heartland Library System. While the new system is still in the early stages of planning, its formation will result in numerous changes to the operation of our library.