In a few days the Urbana Free Library will be approaching a very important milestone. July 2, 2014 marks 140 years of community service. The library has a rich history, all starting with a group of men interested in creating a library.
The year was 1872 when members of a committee organized and founded the "Young Men's Library Association" where members paid a fee to view the Association's holdings. Later, a name change occurred and the organization became the "Urbana Library Association". With interest mounting, the Library Association opened a Reading Room where subscribers could sit and read the latest newspapers and periodicals. During the spring of 1974, the Library Association decided to transfer the Reading Room over to the City and on July 2, 1874 the Urbana Free Library was born!
Interested in learning more about Urbana's favorite library? Come to the Archives and view photographs of the library, newspaper articles and great histories of the library.
Be sure on July 2nd to wish the library a Happy Birthday!
LC