Sumner Library is a public library located in the Near North neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Established in 1915 and named after Charles Sumner, a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts known for his strong stance against slavery, it was the second of the four Carnegie libraries built in Minneapolis.
In the early 20th century, the Sumner Library served as a haven for Jewish immigrants. In response to a survey indicating that 95% of the library's patrons were Jewish immigrants, the Minneapolis Public Library moved its entire collection of Yiddish and Hebrew works to the Sumner Library branch. Over the decades, its focus shifted to meet the needs of arriving Scandinavian, Russian, Black American, Southeast Asian, and East African residents as the neighborhood's demographics changed. Many patrons learned English there and participated in social clubs held in the building.
The Tudor Revival building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2008, Sumner and the 14 other libraries of the Minneapolis Public Library were merged into the combined urban/suburban Hennepin County Library system. The Sumner Library celebrated its 100th anniversary on October 10, 2015.Hennepin County Library News, Sept. 21 http://www.hclib.org/about/news/2015/September/sumner-100
Establishment and Carnegie grant Sumner Library opened on June 5, 1912, in a rented store room at 901 6th Ave. N in Minneapolis.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, 1912, p. 42. Young people flocked to the library for reading materials, and many adults used the library's collection of juvenile materials to learn English.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, 1913, p. 38. Approximately 90% of the library's patrons were Jewish immigrants.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, 1912, p. 42. From the outset, reading materials in Russian, Yiddish, and Hebrew were in high demand, and the foreign language collection was entirely "read out" by 1913.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, 1913, p. 38.
Just a few months prior to the library's opening in rented quarters, the Minneapolis Public Library received notice that the Carnegie Corporation was offering them $125,000 to erect four branch libraries.Minneapolis Public Library Board Meeting Minutes, April 16, 1912. Gratia Countryman, Head Librarian of the Minneapolis Public Library, had worked tirelessly to secure the grant.National Register of Historic Places, Registration Form, United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, April 28, 2000, section 8, p. 13, http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/nrhp/nomination/00000539.pdf Countryman believed that extension services would enable the library to reach as many people as possible, and the branch libraries were a key component of extension work in the Minneapolis Public Library system.Brown, Curt, "Minnesota history: For Gratia Countryman, an early librarian, praise is long overdue," Star Tribune, April 29, 2015, http://www.startribune.com/minnesota-history-for-gratia-countryman-an-early-librarian-praise-is-long-overdue/301320371/
Sumner is one of the three remaining Carnegie library branches remaining in Minneapolis, with the others being the Franklin and the Hosmer libraries.National Register of Historic Places, Registration Form, United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, April 28, 2000, section 8, p. 17, http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/nrhp/nomination/00000539.pdf Minneapolis architect Cecil Bayless Chapman designed the library in the Tudor Revival style. The brick L-shaped library featured arched ceilings and a central tower where the main entrance and librarian's office were. Sumner Library's new building officially opened on December 16, 1915, at 6th Ave. N and Emerson. After being open just one month, the new building was already too small. Staff reported that one-third of the children who came to the library could not find a place to sit, and adults were crowded out of the library altogether.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, 1915, p. 18.
The library's diverse community Throughout the entirety of its existence, Sumner Library has been a mainstay among services helping immigrants adapt to life in the United States. Almost as soon as the building opened, Sumner Library hosted English and citizenship courses.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Sumner Branch Report, 1918, p. 1. Since many adults in the neighborhood did not speak English, library staff would ask children, who often did speak English, to tell their parents about the classes. Neighborhood residents affectionately refer to the Sumner Library as "our university," as it has provided a welcoming space for education and social interaction. It served various populations over the decades as demographics changed. Today, the library continues to offer assistance to people earning their GED, learning English and studying for their citizenship exam through tutoring and classes offered by the Open Door Learning Center.
Sumner Library has served a wide variety of ethnic and religious groups since its establishment in North Minneapolis. Initially, the population that lived near and used Sumner Library was primarily Jewish. Adelaide Rood, Branch Librarian from 1916 to 1953, saw the library as a place that could help people of different cultural groups understand one another.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Sumner Branch Report, 1941, p. 6. In 1931, the library held its first "Jewish Book Week," displaying Jewish books and items.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Sumner Branch Report, 1931, pp. 3-4. In the 1940s, the library decorated for Christmas and Hanukkah, creating good-will among patrons.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Sumner Branch Report, 1941, p. 6 By as early as the 1920s, however, Jewish families began moving farther north and west, out of the vicinity of the library.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Sumner Branch Report, 1926, p. 3. By 1961, the library reported that the neighborhood could no longer be thought of as a Jewish neighborhood, but an African American neighborhood, and the library's collection of Yiddish and Hebrew books was transferred to the Central Library.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Sumner Branch Report, 1961, pp. 1 & 3.
The neighborhood surrounding Sumner Library has been home to African Americans since before the library was built. In the 1920s, the library established reading rooms in the Border Avenue Methodist Church and in the Phyllis Wheatley Settlement HouseMinneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Sumner Branch Report, 1926, p. 3. for African Americans in order to reach more African Americans on the Northside. In the 1970s, responding to the needs of the community, Branch Librarian Grace Belton set out to identify and collect resources on Black history and literature as a means of providing access to these resources and preserving Black heritage.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Sumner Branch Report, 1976, p. 102. By 1988, this collection included 2,500 titles.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Sumner Branch Report, 1988, p. 44. In 1998, the collection was named the Gary N. Sudduth African American History and Culture Collection, after the Library Board Trustee and Urban League President Gary N. Sudduth."Juneteenth at Sumner Library," June 23, 2015, http://www.hclib.org/about/news/2015/June/juneteenth-sumner As of 2015, the collection contains over 5,000 titles for children, teens, and adults.
From the 1920s until the 1940s, Sumner library also served Finnish people. The library housed a collection of Finnish materials until 1954, when it was transferred to the Central Library.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Sumner Branch Report, 1954, p. 3.
In the 1980s, people from Southeast Asia began living near and using Sumner Library. By the 1990s, people from Somalia and Ethiopia lived on the Northside and began using the library as well.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Sumner Branch Report, 1993, p. 106. As of 2015, the library houses Somali, Hmong, and Spanish language collections.Hennepin County Library Language Collections, http://www.hclib.org/about/locations/language-collections
Changes to the building After Sumner Library opened in 1915, inadequate space was always an issue. In 1927, a much needed addition was built on the west side of the library.National Register of Historic Places, Registration Form, United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, April 28, 2000, section 7, p. 2, http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/nrhp/nomination/00000539.pdf The new addition housed the children's room and a workroom.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Sumner Branch Report, 1926, p.1. In 1938, Sumner Library was moved 100 feet north to accommodate the widening of 6th Avenue.Benidt, Bruce W., "The Library Book: Centennial History of the Minneapolis Public Library," Minneapolis Public Library and Information Center, 1984, p. 130. The work was done by a crew of six men, who moved the building from its original location one-eighth of an inch at a time with a large jack.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Sumner Branch Report, 1938, p. 1. Books were covered with newspaper during the move to prevent damage. Moving the library cost $32,000.National Register of Historic Places, Registration Form, United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, April 28, 2000, section 8, p. 20, http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/nrhp/nomination/00000539.pdf At the same time the library was moved, an addition was built on the north side of the library. The addition was used as an office and a reference room.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Sumner Branch Report, 1938, p. 2. In 2004, the library was renovated once again. Additions were built on the north and west sides of the library, and the library's entrance was relocated to the north side of the building. Existing parts of the library were also restored and preserved to maintain aspects of the building's original design. Minneapolis architects, Mohammed Lawal and Peter Sussman, designed the renovations."Cornerstones: A History of North Minneapolis," University of Minnesota & tpt/Twin Cities Public Television, 2011, http://www.uroc.umn.edu/cornerstones/ Lawal grew up on the Northside and used Sumner Library as a child.Olson, Dan, "An eye for Minneapolis," Minnesota Public Radio, February 5, 2002, http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/200202/04_olsond_architect/
Programming Sumner Library has established itself as an important neighborhood community space by hosting many clubs, events, and classes over the years. Children's clubs and programming were especially popular in Sumner's early years. From the 1920s to the 1940s, troops of Boy Scouts met regularly at Sumner Library. In 1927, staff started a library club for girls. Members would mend books and magazines, shelve books, and keep the children's room organized.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Sumner Branch Report, 1927, pp. 1-2. The library club was so popular that there was a waiting list to join the club.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Sumner Branch Report, 1928, p. 2. In 1947, the library offered a teen book club for girls.Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Sumner Branch Report, 1947, p. 5. During the 1950s, films for adults were shown regularly at the library,Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report, Branch Department Report, 1952, p. 9. and in the 1960s, the library showed films based on children's books."Sumner Library Shows Forest Animal Films," North Minneapolis Post, March 3, 1960.