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Quick Summary
The Duluth Public Library was founded in 1890 and has occupied several different buildings in its 126-year history. Since 1980 the Main Library has operated out of an ore boat shaped facility designed by architect Gunnar Birkerts.
Building Facts: The Duluth Public Library was founded in 1890 and has occupied several different buildings in its 126-year history. Since 1980 the Main Library has operated out of an ore boat shaped facility designed by architect Gunnar Birkerts. The building is located near the entrance of Duluth’s downtown, at 520 W. Superior St. Its top floor spans the length of a city block.
Because of the city’s unique long and narrow shape, the Duluth Public Library also has operated neighborhood branches in the eastern and western parts of town. The eastern branch is located in the Mt. Royal Shopping Center off Woodland Ave. This summer an expansion project added a program room that serves as a reading lounge/study space when library programs are not going on. The West Duluth Branch is in a city-owned building on Grand Ave. that also houses a senior center as well as a police and fire station.
Collections: Collections at the branch libraries are mainly popular in nature, focused on meeting the general needs of the neighborhoods in which they are located. Books for children are especially popular at the Mt. Royal Branch, while the West Duluth Branch circulates a lot of adult fiction.
The collection at the Main Library is larger, as it serves the needs of the two branches as well as other public libraries in the Arrowhead Library System and beyond. This location has an extensive local history collection, a slide collection of Duluth area photographs, and a clipping file that is much beloved by local historians.
Duluth's rich and colorful history, both past and present, is documented through the materials contained in our non-circulating Duluth Collection. A wide range of Duluth-related subjects are covered, including general history, architecture, schools, churches, business and industry, civic concerns, recreation, laws, politics, and climate. Books written by Duluthians are also found in the Duluth Collection.
The non-circulating Minnesota Collection covers a wide range of state-related subjects, with special emphasis given to St. Louis County, Northeastern Minnesota and Lake Superior. Works by many Minnesota authors are also included.
The Main Library is also the home of the Duluth Seed Library. The seed library opened in 2014. With support from some key partner organizations, the Duluth Seed Library was instrumental in helping Minnesota become the first state to legalize seed libraries and small scale, person-to-person seed exchange.
Interlibrary Loan Services: The ILL office is staffed by a part-time librarian and a full-time library technician. Resources are shared through MNLINK using the location symbol DUD. New books and DVDs can be requested. ILL funding is handled through Arrowhead Library System (ALS), though Duluth Public Library operates independently when it comes to loaning and borrowing material. In the last fiscal year, Duluth Public Library borrowed 9,272 items and loaned 11,556 items.
Minitex Resource Sharing Services: The Minitex relationship with Duluth Public library dates to the days when materials were shipped via Greyhound buses. Today, specialized delivery services expedite the shipping process of returnable materials while most non-returnables are sent electronically. Request traffic between Minitex and Duluth Public Library has remained stable over the last 2 fiscal years. Duluth Public sent 4,140 requests to Minitex in FY2015 and 4,185 in FY2016. Minitex sent 1,024 requests to Duluth Public in FY2015 and it increased to 1,306 in FY2016. Duluth Public's ILL office has an impressive 88% fill rate.
Stacy LaVres & Carla Powers are the primary authors of this article.
