213 E. Wall St., Benton Harbor, MI 49022
About Us
Library Departments
Administration
Yvette Moore – Administrative Assistant
bentonharborlibrary@yahoo.com
Technical Services
Sharon Holloway
bhlibrary2@yahoo.com
Junior Department
Tiffany Bradley
tbradley@bentonharborlibrary.com
Lon’Neisha | Ama | Katie | Catherine
junior@bentonharborlibrary.com
Adult Department
Matt | Jazmine | Kat | Raina | Ja’Bria | Brian
staff@bentonharborlibrary.com
Board of Trustees
The Library Board of Trustees meets the third Tuesday of each month at 4:30 in the Library Reference Room on the first floor. The public is invited to attend. Notice of special meetings will be posted on the Library’s exterior doors, at least 18 hours prior to the meeting, in compliance with Michigan’s Open Meetings Act.
President: Mamie L. Yarbrough
City of Benton Harbor
Term expires May 1, 2030
Vice-President: Rich Hensel
City of Benton Harbor
Term expires May 1, 2029
Secretary: Marian Tripplett
Benton Charter Township
Term expires January 1, 2027
Trustee: Edward Isom
City of Benton Harbor
Term expires May 1, 2031
Trustee: Toni Rabbers
City of Benton Harbor
Term expires May 1, 2028
Trustee: Dr. Stephanie Robinson
Benton Charter Township
Term expires January 21, 2028
Trustee: Vacant
City of Benton Harbor
Term expires May 1, 2028
Our History
1898-1900 | In The Beginning
- In the fall of 1898, a group of citizens presented a request to the city to establish a library for the betterment of the community.
- On January 2, 1899, the city passed an ordinance creating the mechanics for the establishment of the library. That spring, the city appropriated $1,500 for the public library.
- The public library opened in September 1900 “in Room 12 located over the drugstore.” Louise Huntington Bailey was hired as the first librarian.
1902-1903 | New Building
- In 1902 the library solicited $20,000 from the Carnegie Foundation for a library building. The new library was opened on August 4, 1903. The library had 3,500 volumes … and running water throughout the building.
1924-1926 | Stable Funding
- In 1924, the city allocated $3,500 to run the library. Librarian Theodosia Falkingham demanded more funding from the city, based on the fact that the library had 9,000 volumes and an annual circulation of 60,000. The city drew up an amendment that would allocate ½ mill for the library budget. The citizens passed the amendment.
- 1926: Local merchant F.G. Prideaux gave ivory-veneer busts of Washington, Lincoln, and Roosevelt to the library in honor of his parents. They are still on display to this day.
1963-2003 | Welcoming The Township
- In 1963, Benton Township contracted with the city for library services, discontinuing its own small library, and arranging for bookmobile services. The first bookmobile was put into service in October 1964. It was replaced by a new bookmobile in 1978. In 1968, the township contracted for full library use rights for township residents. In the 1990 the bookmobile received a face lift with a new paint job.
- The 1978 bookmobile blew a head gasket in 1999, and was replaced by a used bookmobile from the Kalamazoo Public Library. That vehicle was decommissioned in 2003 due to high repair costs.
1964-1966 | Expanding Space
- Talks concerning a new library building resurfaced in 1964, and in 1965 a bond issue was passed to fund construction. In 1966, as the new building was being constructed next to the original library, part of a wall collapsed on the old building. Some library services were moved temporarily to the old News Palladium building.
1968 | New Home
- The new building opened in 1968, and featured a 2.5-ton stainless steel sculpture of Icarus donated by Arthur Sidney Mendel Foundation; a whimsical brass goat filled with tin cans in the Junior Department donated by the Dave Goldbaum family; and seven bronze figures of mythical Greek gods and goddesses on the building exterior, funded by the citizens of Benton Harbor.
1979-1980 | Independence Affirmed
- In a significant move in 1979, the library board filed suit against the city in Berrien County Circuit Court. At issue was the question of who had authority over the library, the city or the library board. Judge Zoe Burkholz rules in favor of the library board, a decision upheld by the state Court of Appeals in 1980.
- High tech came to the library in 1997, with the donation of a single Windows 95 computer connected to the internet. This was followed in 2000 by 10 fully loaded Gateway computers donated by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
1997-Today | To The 21st Century
- More tech …
- Second round of Gates computers 2006
- Automated circulation system 2007
- Wireless internet 2015
- Today, the library has 19 public access computers, and WiFi that stretches to neighboring parks.
