THE LIBRARY SERVICE AREA:
  Menomonie Public Library is a municipal library created by the City of Menomonie.  It serves the population of the City of Menomonie and its boundaries are coterminous with the City of Menomonie.  It also serves as the primary library resource in Dunn County.  Wisconsin Library System law requires that member libraries provide service to any resident of Wisconsin.  Menomonie Public Library is a member of the Indianhead Federated Library System.
   Menomonie belongs to the MORE automation consortium. The library system membership and the automation consortium participation ensure interlibrary borrowing privileges for Dunn County library patrons and greatly enhance the number and variety of library materials available.

HISTORY OF THE MENOMONIE PUBLIC LIBRARY

   A public library was created in Menomonie in 1874 when a local liquor ordinance failed.  The women of the community were concerned about the behavior and welfare of the young boys and thought that a reading room would provide the proper direction for their free time.  In 1876 the City of Menomonie took over the operation of the public library.  That library was located on the second floor of the First Bank Building in downtown Menomonie for sixteen years.
   In 1890 the library was moved to the Mabel Tainter Memorial building.  It was planned as a community cultural center and included an assembly room, a library and reading room, the Mabel Tainter Memorial Theatre, and workrooms for ladies and young men.
   In January 1975 the Menomonie City Council established a Municipal Library Board, appointed by the City Council.  This board met the requirements for the creation of a public library under Wisconsin State Law.  As part of the work of the Board, a study commission was formed to investigate the future of the Menomonie Public Library.  This committee recommended that a site be acquired and a building be built to serve the library needs of the community.
   The Menomonie Public Library continued to function at the Mabel Tainter Memorial building until 1986 when it moved to a new facility at 600 Wolske Bay Road.  The new library was constructed with funds from the city, the state, the federal government, and private sources.  The total money available was not sufficient to build a library with the size necessary to address the library services needs of the City of Menomonie and a service population that includes most of Dunn County.
   The Menomonie Public Library has, once again, reached a point in its development that will require a larger facility in order to fulfill the library service needs of the community.  An Ad Hoc Building Committee was formed in 2001 to study the long-term (2001-2021) space needs of the library.  They were also commissioned with the responsiblity of recommending an architect to design the proposed addition and remodeling of the existing library at 600 Wolske Bay Road.  The Board selected Tim Peterson of Architectural Design Group in Menomonie after considering four firms from the area.