About Us

Orland Park Public Library

14921 Ravinia Avenue
Orland Park, IL 60462
708-428-5100
708-349-8196 (Fax)

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Hours

9 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Friday
9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday
1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday

Library Closings

The library closes for these holidays:
• Spring Holiday (Easter Sunday)
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day (4th of July)
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas Eve
• Christmas
• New Year's Eve
• New Year's Day

The library will be OPEN for these holidays:
• Dr. Martin Luther King Day
• Lincoln's Birthday
• Presidents' Day

The Orland Park Public Library was formed in 1937 when the Orland Park Women's Club decided to make the founding of a public library its major activity for the year. Partial funding was provided by a WPA library project through the Illinois State Library Extension board in Springfield. Mr. Roy Loebe donated the Purple Candle Building to use rent-free. Many other donors contributed to the fledging library.

In 1940 the population of Orland Park was 631. In 1941 the Village Board passed an ordinance establishing a free public library operated by volunteers and stocked by donations. In 1943 a referendum was passed allowing taxes to be levied for the operation of the library.

By 1960 the population had grown to 2,592 and the library began receiving a new state library service, a bookmobile. This service continued until 1967 when the library joined the Suburban Library System. The population in 1970 was 6,391 and the Purple Candle Building simply could not hold another thing -- records were even stacked in a bathtub. Plans were made to move the library into a larger building.

Expansion came in the form of a gift. As the Orland Park Herald reported in January 1975, "In an unprecedented gesture of largesse Andrew Corporation gave a gift of a new Library Building to the community of Orland Park at the Village Board meeting on January 13." The 7,000 square foot building, the Aileen S. Andrew Memorial, at 14760 Park Lane was dedicated on November 14, 1976.

The Village of Orland Park kept growing; the population for 1980 was 23,045. The Andrew Foundation once again donated the needed money, providing an addition to the library building, which increased its size to almost 18,500 square feet. Besides the addition completed in August 1983, the library began contracting for bookmobile service from the Frankfort Public Library during the summer.

The 1990 census reported 35,720 residents and the library was again in need of space. The Library Board purchased a bookmobile and an expansion of the building was approved. The second addition added the bookmobile garage, meeting room, boardroom, and Technical Services area. There was also a small remodeling project to add shelves for the public where the old Technical Services area had been. Financing, for the first time, was through a municipal bond issue.

In 2002, the Board of Trustees placed a referendum on the ballot to build a new facility to be located on 149th and Ravinia Avenue, replacing the current facility. The referendum passed with two-thirds of the votes in favor of the proposed building. Michael Barnes, an architect from Lohan Anderson, designed the 93,000 square foot building and W.E. O'Neil was chosen as the General Contractor. The new facility officially opened at 14921 Ravinia Avenue on September 12, 2004 and has won numerous awards for its building design.

POSITION AVAILABLE:
REFERENCE LIBRARIAN I
YOUTH SERVICES DEPARTMENT
PART-TIME

We are seeking an innovative and service-oriented professional responsible for reference, reader’s advisory and programming. This part-time position gives the applicant an opportunity to work in a large library with a strong commitment to children, teens and caregivers.

Responsibilities

• Provides reference and readers’ advisory service using print and electronic resources
• Develops and conducts programming, book discussions and/or school visits
• Is regularly scheduled at the Youth Services’ public service desks

Necessary Knowledge

• Possess knowledge of reference and readers’ advisory services
• Possess knowledge of children’s and teens’ literature
• Extensive knowledge of bibliographic tools and reference resources in both print and electronic formats
• Experience in current technology including Microsoft Windows, Internet, Email (Outlook and webmail), MS Office suite (Word, Excel, etc.)

Qualifications

• Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science or currently enrolled in an MLIS program
• Must be willing to work evenings and weekends
• Access to transportation

Position is part-time at 12 – 18 hours per week, including some evenings and weekends.
Starting salary is $20.75 per hour for MLIS students and $22.62 per hour for MLIS graduates.

Applicants for all positions are subject to a background check.

Send cover letter, resume, application and three references
to hr@orlandparklibrary.org
or mail
Orland Park Public Library
Human Resources
14921 Ravinia Avenue
Orland Park, IL 60462

Please indicate Reference Librarian I on the application and subject line of electronic submissions.
Position open until filled.

The Orland Park Public Library is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Posted: January 25, 2019

The Board of Library Trustees consists of seven residents of the Village of Orland Park who are elected biennially to six year terms and serve as the policy making body of the library.

• Christian J. Barcelona, President
  cbarcelona@orlandparklibrary.org
• Joanna M. Liotine Leafblad, Vice-President
  jleafblad@orlandparklibrary.org
• Diane I. Jennings, Treasurer
  djennings@orlandparklibrary.org
• Elan Kleis, Secretary
  ekleis@orlandparklibrary.org
• Nancy Wendt Healy, Trustee
  nhealy@orlandparklibrary.org
• Daniel McMillan, Trustee
  dmcmillan@orlandparklibrary.org
• Charles McShane, Trustee
  cmcshane@orlandparklibrary.org

The Board of Library Trustees meets on the third Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. in Room 104. These meetings are open to the public. Public Comment Policy (PDF)

2018 Scheduled Meetings of the Board of Trustees (PDF)

2019 Scheduled Meetings of the Board of Trustees (PDF)

Library Board Committees(PDF)

Please visit the Public Records and FOIA page for the Agendas and Minutes from the Board of Library Trustees meetings.

The Freedom of Information Act

The Illinois General Assembly has enacted a piece of legislation designed to provide full access to units of local government in Illinois. In 2009, the 96th Illinois General Assembly adopted P.A. 96-0542, effective January 1, 2010, making extensive amendments to the Freedom of Information Act.

On March 15, 2010, The Board of Library Trustees for the Orland Park Public Library adopted a Freedom of Information Act Resolution to comply with this legislation. The library has designated staff to handle any Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests.

FOIA Resolution (PDF)
Practices and Procedures (PDF)
Organizational Chart of the Orland Park Library (PDF)

Visit our FOIA Center to make and track FOIA requests.

Designated FOIA Officer
Orland Park Public Library
14921 Ravinia Avenue
Orland Park, IL 60462
FOIA@orlandparklibrary.org

Please visit the Public Records and FOIA page for more information.