Library Mission & Strategic Plan

Mission

Our Purpose

We inspire curiosity, connection, collaboration, and creativity for all.

Vision

Our Future

The Frankfort Public Library District is the heart of our communities, by providing lifelong learning, discovery, and experience.

Strategic Plan

Every 3 to 5 years, the Library develops a new long-range strategic plan. This process allows us to assess current conditions and areas for growth. The plan is also used to set goals and benchmarks for continuous improvement and evaluation. The current 2023-2026 strategic plan was developed by a committee of Library Trustees and staff, utilizing feedback from the community.

Facts & Statistics

Population Served:

  • 33,761

Size of the Library

  • 29,400 square feet

Collection Size

  • Physical = 102,039
CollectionNo. of Items
Adult Fiction Titles24,383
Adult Nonfiction Titles26,749
Adult Audio Titles2,338
Adult Blu-Ray & DVD Titles6,664
Adult Video Games126
Youth Services Fiction Titles18,262
Youth Services Non-Fiction Titles12,913
Youth Services Audio Titles933
Youth Services CD Titles49
Youth Services Blu-Ray & DVD Titles2,102
Videogames481
Magazine & Newspaper Titles67
eMedia Titles: audiobooks, ebooks, magazines, and movies/tv800,000+

FPLD Historical Timeline

August 29, 1961
August 29, 1961

Library is established at 9 W. Nebraska Street as a volunteer library by a group of mothers from Frankfort Parent Teachers Association. Library doors opened in March 1962.

See Remember the Ladies

Decade 1: 66-76
Decade 1: 66-76

  • May 28, 1966 Library becomes a tax-supported village library at 9 W. Nebraska Street. Prior to that it was a volunteer library by a group of mothers from the Frankfort Parent Teachers Association, opening doors in 1962.
  • 1967 Library Board hires Ms. Arlene Santoro as the first Administrative Librarian.
  • May 1968 Library moves to a new location at 27 S. Ash Street.
  • September 1, 1970 Library becomes a district library. September 19, 1973 Library annexes Frankfort Square.
  • July 1, 1974 Library joins the Suburban Library System, known today as SWAN.
  • December 13, 1975 Referendum raises $825,000 for a new library building and bookmobile.
Decade 2: 76-86
Decade 2: 76-86

  • January 1977 Bookmobile service to local school districts begins.
  • February 18, 1978 Groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the construction of a new library building on five acres of land at the southeast corner of Route 30 and Pfeiffer Road.
  • July 9, 1979 Library opens to the public at its present location, 21119 S. Pfeiffer Road with a formal dedication on February 3, 1980.
  • Spring 1984 Administrative Librarian Ms. Arlene Santoro retires.
  • September 1986 Women’s Club members donate their organization’s scrapbooks and minutes to the Library Archives.
Decade 3: 86-96
Decade 3: 86-96

  • May 11, 1995 The library acquires an additional two acres of land making library property total seven acres.
  • June 1, 1996 Library celebrates its 30th anniversary.
Decade 4: 96-06
Decade 4: 96-06

  • 1997-1998 Library Board hires Marian M. Glunz to serve as Interim Administrative Librarian.
  • Summer 1998 Library Board hires Mr. Detlev Pansch as the third Administrative Librarian.
  • Summer 1999 Library sponsors a cow named “Lucy the Lactator” as a participant in the city of Chicago program called “Cows on Parade.”
  • November 12, 1999 Grand opening to celebrate a new westward addition to the library.
Decade 5: 06-16
Decade 5: 06-16

  • October 2008 Library Board hires Mr. Pierre Gregoire as the fourth Administrative Librarian.
  • September 2, 2014 Groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate a 9,400 square foot addition on the Library's west end.
  • May 2, 2015 Ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate a 9,400 square foot addition on the Library's west end. New space allocated for community meeting rooms, additional study rooms, computer area, learning lab and quiet study.
  • May 15, 2016 Library celebrates its 50th birthday with a “Retro Run” 5k Walk. The run starts and ends at the southwest corner of Pfeiffer Road and Route 30. The route follows the path toward the Old Plank Trail, heading west, and then goes east from Prairie Park in downtown Frankfort.
  • July 30, 2015 Bookmobile retired from service.
  • November 2017 The Friends of the Library host their first biannual Art Market.
Decade 6: 16-26
Decade 6: 16-26

  • December 2020 Library barn removed from southeast end of Library property.
  • December 2020 Administrative Librarian Mr. Pierre Gregoire retires.
  • January 2021 Library Board appoints Assistant Director/Head of Adult Services, Melissa Rice, to serve as Interim Library Director.
  • June 2021 Library Board hires Amanda Kowalcze as the fifth Library Director.
  • Summer 2021 Nature-themed Community Mural completed in the Library’s East Courtyard. The mural was designed by artist Jen Pagnini and painted by staff and community members.
  • November 2022 The Friends of the Library hold a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate their book sale area update. The update included new & accessible shelving as well as a new arrangement of goods (books/audiobooks/dvds/cds) for sale. 
  • March 2024 The Library hosts its first annual Earth Awareness Day Fair. 
  • October 2024 The Library Storywalk is installed at Prairie Park, the result of a collaboration between the Library, the Village of Frankfort, the Frankfort Park District, and Boy Scout Troop 270. The Storywalk was an Eagle project by Aaron Herbst.
  • January 2026 Library reaches fundraiser goal for a new Outreach Van.

Remember the Ladies

In March 1776, Abigail Adams wrote a letter to her husband John urging the Massachusetts representative to “remember the ladies” while serving and making decisions on behalf of American citizens in the Continental Congress at Philadelphia. To borrow from Abigail Adams, the Frankfort Public Library dedicates this page to remember the ladies of Frankfort, in this case, past members of the still-active Women’s Club organization. These unsung “sheroes” were leaders in the area, giving sacrificially to promote interest in civic and cultural affairs and the general welfare of the community. The Women’s Club is held in affectionate esteem at Frankfort Public Library as they were responsible for dreaming up the library and providing needed financial support. They paid the rent ($540 annually) and heating bills at the Library’s first location on 9 W. Nebraska Street in downtown Frankfort from 1961-1966 through the first year of the Library becoming a tax-supported village library. The Women’s Club also held an annual Library Benefit Dance to help further fund library operating costs.

The founding mothers of the Frankfort Public Library Association were Pearl Cheney, Maybelle Eastman, Joan Keener, Marian E.(Meyers) Kohlbacher, Victoria (Gerodimos) Lambrecht, Doris Olsen, Joyce Petnuch – all members of the Frankfort Parent Teacher Association (PTA). These visionary, caring women recognized a need for library services. Their initial goal was to provide a place for school children to do research. This purpose was expanded to include the whole community. This is reflected in their vision statement:

“To establish and maintain in the Village of Frankfort, Will County, Illinois a circulating library and also reading and writing rooms and a reference library and to furnish the same respectively with books, reviews, magazines, newspapers and other publications, including instrument and vocal music.”

The early founders succeed in establishing a volunteer library on August 29, 1961 with doors opening to the public in March of 1962. The new library was staffed by 32 regular volunteers, serving once a month, and 10 substitutes. The building housed community donations, new books from the PTA, chairs and books from the Women’s Club, and State Library extended loans.

Because of this special relationship between the Women’s Club and Frankfort Public Library, the Women’s Club members decided to donate the organization’s scrapbooks and minutes to the Library in September of 1986. The multimedia scrapbooks are true treasures and works of art, providing information beyond the written word about social history, gender roles, fashion, and more. These early scrapbooks can be viewed as historical signposts. Additional materials were donated at a later date and include membership and installation information, notes, event records, reports, booklets, correspondence, financial records, the club’s constitution, and by-laws. These records date back to 1917 and include some material through the 1990s. The Club was organized April 28, 1917 under the name of the Frankfort Home Improvement Club and experienced other name changes across time.

Due to the sensitive nature and dates of some of the content, access to most of the Women’s Club items are restricted at this time. The library remains committed to preserving these materials as one small gesture of gratitude for the remarkable library legacy made possible by the Women’s Club.

Sources:

Abigail Adams’ “Remember the Ladies Letter” (1776). Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Aug. 2005. Web. 18 Aug. 2014.

Frankfort: the Town, the Events, the People: The Centennial Year. Frankfort: Book Committee of Frankfort, 1979. Print.

Unknown Author. Speech on index cards indicating Women’s Club Gift of scrapbooks to the LIbrary. (1986). FRANKFORT SECTION 1R Box 1, Folder 1. Frankfort Women’s Club Membership and Miscellaneous Information. Frankfort Public Library Archives, Frankfort, IL. 18 Aug. 2014

Unknown Author. ‘History of the Frankfort Public Library District: The Rest of the Story….’ n.d. FRANKFORT SECTION 1R Box 1, Folder 18. Frankfort Women’s Club Membership and Miscellaneous Information. Frankfort Public Library Archives, Frankfort, IL. 18 Aug. 2014