| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate wish to | ||||||
| 3 | congratulate the Gail Borden Public Library District on the | ||||||
| 4 | occasion of its 150th anniversary; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, After the Illinois legislature passed the Free | ||||||
| 6 | Library Act on March 7, 1872, the Elgin community was the first | ||||||
| 7 | in the State to vote "yes" to create a public library, opening | ||||||
| 8 | the Elgin Library in 1874 in a building located where the Tower | ||||||
| 9 | Building now stands; and | ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, The Elgin Library moved to a home fitting the | ||||||
| 11 | city's growing stature in the early 1890s when Alfred and | ||||||
| 12 | Samuel Church donated a mansion at Spring Street and Highland | ||||||
| 13 | Avenue for its use with the only proviso that it be renamed the | ||||||
| 14 | Gail Borden Public Library after their stepfather, who made | ||||||
| 15 | his fortune by inventing a new way to condense milk and built | ||||||
| 16 | the Elgin Milk Condensing Co. in the city because it was where | ||||||
| 17 | his second wife once lived; and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, The Gail Borden Public Library remained at 50 | ||||||
| 19 | North Spring Street until the early 1970s, when the Gail | ||||||
| 20 | Borden Public Library District was created and a new library | ||||||
| 21 | was built at the southwest corner of Kimball Street and Grove | ||||||
| 22 | Avenue; and | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | WHEREAS, As the community grew, so did demand for the Gail | ||||||
| 2 | Borden Public Library District's services; the library | ||||||
| 3 | district's current downtown facility opened at 270 North Grove | ||||||
| 4 | Avenue, across from its prior location, in October 2003; the | ||||||
| 5 | Rakow Branch on Bowes Road in Elgin followed in August 2009, | ||||||
| 6 | and the South Elgin Branch on South McLean Boulevard opened in | ||||||
| 7 | July 2016; and | ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, The Gail Borden Public Library District serves | ||||||
| 9 | 149,907 residents in Elgin, South Elgin, and portions of | ||||||
| 10 | Hoffman Estates, Streamwood, and Bartlett, with 60.5% of | ||||||
| 11 | residents being cardholders, making it the second largest | ||||||
| 12 | library district in Illinois for population served; and | ||||||
| 13 | WHEREAS, The Gail Borden Public Library District has | ||||||
| 14 | received a number of awards, including the 2009 National Medal | ||||||
| 15 | for Museum and Library Services, the nation's highest | ||||||
| 16 | recognition for American libraries, and being named the 2010 | ||||||
| 17 | Elgin Hispanic Network Organization of the Year; and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, The Gail Borden Public Library Foundation is | ||||||
| 19 | hosting a kick-off event to the library district's 150th | ||||||
| 20 | anniversary celebration at its downtown location on December | ||||||
| 21 | 8, 2023; the library district will be holding various programs | ||||||
| 22 | and presentations throughout the year to commemorate the | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | sesquicentennial; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 2 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | ||||||
| 3 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the | ||||||
| 4 | Gail Borden Public Library District on its 150th anniversary, | ||||||
| 5 | and we wish the library district continued success in its | ||||||
| 6 | endeavors to best serve its community and visitors; and be it | ||||||
| 7 | further | ||||||
| 8 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 9 | presented to the Gail Borden Public Library District as an | ||||||
| 10 | expression of our esteem and respect. | ||||||