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Sterling Library
Sterling Public Library, established in 1878, has grown and progressed along with the city.
To keep up with this growth, the library has had several homes within the community as its collection of reading materials and number of patrons has increased. The current building was opened in November 1905, thanks to a donation by Andrew Carnegie. It was expanded in 1985, and again in 1995.
Three main departments serve patrons of all ages. The library even offers items in Spanish, and has extensive local history and genealogy resources. There is a community room and small study room available for public use.
The library houses about 57,000 items in many formats: print, audio, DVD, and electronic books. Newspapers, periodicals, public computers with Internet access, wi-fi, and microfilm of local newspapers is also available.
The library offers a host of digital library services on its website
There is a summer reading program for children and adults, and weekly story time for preschoolers year-round.
Library cards are available at no charge to residents within city limits, and for a fee to people outside city limits. Cards are valid for 2 years. People who live outside the city limits, but own property within the city limits, can get a free, 1-year library card with proof of property ownership. STERLING LIBRARY cont’d to page 16
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Cards can be used at other Illinois public libraries. Sterling has joined its collection with Dixon and Rock Falls public libraries, and with Sterling Public Schools, St. Mary’s School in Sterling, and Newman Central Catholic, Rock Falls and Dixon high schools, to form the Rock River Library Consortium.
People with a valid library card from other public libraries in Illinois can register their card with the Sterling library for circulation privileges.
The library also offers more than just books. People can make copies or use a self-service scanner to scan documents into a PDF file. A notary public is on staff, and adult patrons can check out general admission passes to the Putnam Museum in Davenport.
In addition, the library has an extensive local history and genealogy collection supported by a part-time genealogist. The collection includes periodicals, books, genealogies and microfilm. It also has subscriptions to several internet databases that patrons may use on the library’s computers. n
More info
Sterling Public Library, 102 W. Third St., 815-625-1370. Hours: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Online: Sterlingpubliclibrary. org and on Facebook
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