‘People love this library’: Arlington Heights Memorial Library celebrates 100 years

Arlington Heights residents celebrated a century of their public library Sunday.

Arlington Heights Memorial Library Executive Director Mike Driskell said more than 900 people registered to attend Sunday’s celebration.

“It's awesome,” he said. “That just shows the community support that we have and how much people love this library.”

While the library has served the community in various forms since volunteers first collected about 150 books in 1888, this year marks 100 years since it became an official public library.

Mayor Jim Tinaglia said he remembers visiting the library’s previous location as a fourth-grader after he moved to Arlington Heights in 1971.

“It's unbelievable how much this library has grown and how much it's meant to so many,” he said.

Sunday’s celebration included a building-wide scavenger hunt, trivia sessions, live music from ButterBean, blue and orange cake pops and other activities. An exhibit titled “A Century of Stories” was unveiled, chronicling the history of the library.

Visitors also got to check out the planned contents of a time capsule that will be sealed for 50 years, including items like books, newspapers, records and more from the library’s collection, a 3D printed scan of the library’s Makerplace building and a figure skate from Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu.