The Hennepin County Library, which serves Hennepin County, Minnesota, including the city of Minneapolis, consists of 41 branches in 24 cities and towns. Of these, 15 are in Minneapolis; collectively they made up the Minneapolis Public Library until they were absorbed by the Hennepin system in the merger. Four branches (Central, Franklin, Hosmer, and Sumner) were originally founded as Carnegie libraries. Several other libraries, separate from the system, also operate within the county's boundaries.
Many of the branches of the current library system were established by entities other than the system itself. The Minneapolis Public Library was founded in 1885 to serve Minneapolis, the county's largest city. It opened its first two branches in 1890. During the 1890s, many areas of Minnesota, especially rural zones, lacked free libraries. Over the course of the decade a patchwork of private and legislative efforts sought to deal with the dearth. The city of Hopkins established its own independent library system in 1912; in 1913, other Minnesota cities including Wayzata and Robbinsdale were recorded as having library associations or clubs of their own.
Hennepin County established a library service of its own in early 1922, which entailed taking control of some of the smaller cities' branches (including Robbinsdale's) as well as the creation of a bookmobile which was scheduled to run nine routes per month by 1926. In 1934, Minneapolis was awarded a $125,000 endowment from the Carnegie Corporation for four branch buildings. By the mid-1950s, there were 25 branch libraries, and the bookmobile reached 1,300 families.
The Hennepin County Library board was established as a separate entity in 1965 as a building initiative to serve the rest of the county. The two library boards first discussed the idea of a merger in 1967. Due to concerns about properly serving the residents and city of Minneapolis, the merger debate ended in 1974, keeping both groups separate. In 2007, the merger was revisited and the Minneapolis Public Library officially joined the Hennepin County Library system at the beginning of 2008.
Extant libraries
+Extant Hennepin County Libraries Name City Coordinates Image Opened Notes Arvonne Fraser Minneapolis 1967 Replaced the former Pillsbury branch, which had opened in 1904 as the second branch of the library. Name changed from Southeast in 2019 in honor of Arvonne Fraser. Augsburg Park Richfield 1974 Renovated in 1988 and 2013 Brookdale Brooklyn Center 1981 Originally built in 1965 after a bookmobile served the community for a number of years. Brooklyn Park Brooklyn Park 2016 Replaced 1976 library Champlin Champlin 1994 Replaced earlier 1921 and 1973 Champlin Libraries East Lake Minneapolis 2007 Replaced earlier 1924 and 1976 East Lake Libraries Eden Prairie Eden Prairie 2004 Replaced 1973 Eden Prairie Reading Center and 1986 Eden Prairie Community Library Edina Edina 2004 Originally opened in a schoolhouse in 1921. First permanent location was established in 1968, and the library remained there until its 2004 move. Excelsior Excelsior 2014 Replaced 1965 Excelsior Library Franklin Minneapolis 1914 Listed on the National Register of Historic Places Golden Valley Golden Valley 1971 Renovated in 2015–2016 Hopkins Hopkins 1968 Replaced earlier incarnations at Hopkins City Hall, Dow House (to which it moved in 1948), and an empty restaurant (to which it moved in 1963) Hosmer Minneapolis 1916 Listed on the National Register of Historic Places Linden Hills Minneapolis 1931 Replaced rented Lake Harriet Commercial Club Building space. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Long Lake Long Lake 1995 Replaced several spaces serving the area since 1913 Maple Grove Maple Grove 2010 Replaced nearby 1987 building Maple Plain Maple Plain 1973 Replaced several locations providing service to the area since 1922 Minneapolis Central Minneapolis 2006 Original 1889 building was a few blocks away; replaced 1961 building at current location. Minnetonka Minnetonka 1989 First opened in the late 1800s in the Fletcher–Loring Flour Mill. Moved to other community locations until settling in 1989 at current location. Nokomis Minneapolis 1968 Replaced the Longfellow Community Library, which opened in 1937. North Regional Minneapolis 1971 Was the largest branch outside the main library at the time of its opening in 1971. Northeast Minneapolis 1973 Replaced 1915 Central Avenue branch Osseo Osseo 1967 First opened above a drugstore in 1922. Moved several times until establishing its current location in Osseo City Hall. Oxboro Bloomington 1974 Temporary library operated from 1962 to 1973; current facilities were renovated in 2003–2004, and 2018–2019. Penn Lake Bloomington 1970 Replaced library service housed in two different school buildings since 1954 Pierre Bottineau Minneapolis 2003 Started as the Logan Park branch in a small reading room in 1913. Moved and renamed as the Pierre Bottineau Library in 1957. Current location opened in 2003. Plymouth Plymouth 2010 Replaced 1995 facility. Ridgedale Minnetonka 1982 Renovated in 1999 and 2017–2018 Rockford Road Crystal 1972 Prior to 1972, operated in other locations in the community. Rogers Rogers 1980 Replaced bookmobile service in the area beginning in the 1970s Roosevelt Minneapolis 1927 Listed on the National Register of Historic Places Southdale Edina 1973 Plans for redevelopment began in 2015, originally with a construction period between 2020 and 2022, but were paused until 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Planning restarted in 2023, and the library closed for decommissioning on January 6, 2025. St. Anthony St. Anthony 2002 Replaced 1963 library St. Bonifacius St. Bonifacius 1931 Renovated in 2006 St. Louis Park St. Louis Park 1968 Originally opened in 1913; moved in 1914 to Central Junior High School. Moved in 1960 and again to its current location. Sumner Minneapolis 1915 In 1938 was relocated to accommodate construction of Olson Memorial Highway. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Walker Minneapolis 2014 Replaced 1911 and 1981 Walker branches Washburn Minneapolis 1970 Expanded in 1991; updates were made in 2014 Wayzata Wayzata 2003 Replaced earlier 1905, 1955 (temporary), and 1957 library spaces Webber Park Minneapolis 2017 Replaced an earlier 1910 library which would become Camden Library and later Webber Park Library which moved to new building in 1980 before moving to a temporary location in 2013. Westonka Mound 1972 Replaced various earlier community locations which began service to the area in 1915
Former libraries
Historically, the library operated a bookmobile that started in 1922. In 1955, the bookmobile was serving 1,500–1,600 families and 16 schools, and in 1962 that figure was up to 6,000 families. The library still offers outreach services in the form of mailing or delivering materials to the home of patrons unable to physically access the library system.
The following libraries are no longer operational: Crystal Bay (closed in August 1955) Dayton (1968–1978) Hamel (1922–1968) Longfellow (closed in 1968 and replaced by the Nokomis Library) Morningside (closed in December 1976) North Community Library (the city's first branch library; 1893–1979) Seven Corners (1912–1964) Stubbs Bay (closed in August 1955) Robbinsdale (community now served by the Rockford Road library)
The Hennepin County Library formerly operated school libraries in rural communities and a library in Glen Lake Sanatorium.
Libraries not part of the Hennepin County Library system Within Hennepin County there are several other libraries that are not part of the Hennepin County Library system. Many of these are connected with colleges and universities, including Lindell Library at Augsburg University, Minneapolis Community and Technical College Library (located in Whitney Hall), Normandale Community College Library, Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Library, North Central University's T.J. Jones Library and the University of Minnesota Libraries. Also in the county are the Minneapolis Institute of Art Museum Library, the Hennepin County Law Library, and the independent Quatrefoil Library which holds collections related to the LGBTQ+ community.
See also
List of Carnegie libraries in Minnesota List of libraries in the United States
References Citations
Bibliography
External links