The Library at 70: A Year Worth Celebrating

Tinley Park Public Library has a lot to celebrate this year. 2026 marks the Library's 70th anniversary as well as the 30th anniversary of the Youth Advisory Council (YAC). Together, these milestones tell a story about what a library can become when a community decides to invest in it, generation after generation.

From a One-Car Garage to 7851 Timber Drive

The story of public library service in Tinley Park actually stretches back further than 1956. As early as 1913, a brief library operated out of a storefront on Oak Park Avenue, made possible by the fundraising efforts of the Tinley Park Dramatic Club under local teacher Mrs. Mary Goss Fulton. Without sustained funding, it didn't last, but the passion behind it did.

The Library officially opened in 1956, when members of the Tinley Park Women's Club launched a campaign to create a permanent public library for a village whose population had more than tripled between 1940 and the mid-1950s. On July 28, 1956, the first community library was dedicated in a small temporary building— about the size of a one-car garage— on 171st Street.

From there, the Library grew steadily alongside the community. A 25,000-square-foot facility was dedicated in 1974, an expanded children's area was added in 1982, and the Library moved to its current home at 7851 Timber Drive in 2004. Most recently, a $5.8 million renovation completed in 2025 updated the Youth & Teen Services department and all restrooms, and introduced a convenient drive-up service window.

“For 70 years, the Tinley Park Public Library has grown alongside the community it serves, shaped by the people who have invested their time, energy, and belief in what a library can be and the role it plays in serving others. From its earliest beginnings to today, the Library has always been more than a building. It’s a place where people come to learn, connect, and belong, and a reflection of a community that truly values and supports it,”said Library Director Zach Musil, when asked about the significance of the Library’s 70th anniversary.

Thirty Years of Teens Shaping Their Own Library

While the building has evolved, so has the library's commitment to young people— and nowhere is that more visible than in the Youth Advisory Council (YAC).

In the spring of 1996, the library's first Young Adult Librarian, Karen Siwak, put out a call in the Library newsletter for teens to join the new council:

The Youth Advisory Council began with a handful of members and has grown into a thriving monthly gathering of 20 to 30 teens who share program ideas, participate in activities, and build lasting friendships.

Some of the Library’s most beloved teen programs got their start in YAC's early years: Fairy Tale Theatre, Battle of the Books, and Library Lock-ins.

Two staff members have been central to that legacy. Miss Lowe has been working with teens at the library since 2004, and Mrs. P. since 2013. Both spoke recently about what three decades of teen services means to them. Mrs. P. said that while trends and formats evolve, the heart of teen services will always be about connection— creating a welcoming space where teens can learn, find community, and see themselves reflected in programs and collections.

For Miss Lowe, the reward is more personal. "I guess I expected our relationship to end when they graduate high school," she said, "and it means so much to me that it doesn't"— describing how much it moves her when former YAC teens return to the library years later with their own partners and children.

What 70 Years Looks Like

The throughline across all of it— the early Women's Club organizers, the volunteer-staffed building, the 1996 newsletter ad for YAC membership— is community investment and dedication. Today, the Tinley Park Public Library is governed by an elected seven-member Board of Trustees and serves not only Tinley Park residents but also provides library services under a contract with the Orland Hills Public Library District.

But this only tells part of the story: what started as a small building on 171st Street has been shaped, layer by layer, by the community around it. For 70 years, Tinley Park has invested in its Library. For 30 of them, its emerging adults have been a crucial part of that investment, and made the Library part of what they'll always call home.

The Tinley Park Public Library is located at 7851 Timber Drive. More information about the library's history and current programs is available at tplibrary.org.