Library History

History of the Library:

The Neenah Public Library dates back to February 20, 1882, when a group of citizens organized the Neenah Library Association, a subscription library.  These public-spirited citizens raised funds to build a book collection.  On April 1, 1884, the Common Council voted to establish and maintain a public library and reading room located upstairs in the old City Hall.

Eventually, the library outgrew the space allotted at City Hall, and a new location was needed.  The new library was made possible mainly through a donation of land along the banks of the Fox River, a monetary donation from Mrs. Theda Clark Peters, and a monetary donation from Andrew Carnegie. The new Carnegie library was built for $28,000 and opened in January 1904.    

The Carnegie library served the community well; however, after 60 years since its construction, the city of Neenah grew from 6,000 to 18,000 residents.  From 1904 to the early 1960s, the collection grew from 8,000 to 56,000 volumes, and annual circulation rose from 18,000 to over 205,000.  The community needed increased space to meet the demands of a growing collection and community. In 1962, citizens approved a $350,000 bond issue by referendum for the construction of a library addition.

To preserve the old library building and the downtown location, the architects designed a wrap-around plan.  A 14,000-square-foot building was constructed around and attached to the old building, increasing the total floor space to about 22,600 square feet in 1964.

Architects designed the wrap-around addition to serve the community for 15 years more, and by the early 1990s, it was clear that, to serve Neenah residents adequately, a new library facility was needed.  Eventually, the Board of Trustees put forward a plan to build a new 40,000-square-foot, $5 million library on the Wisconsin Avenue site.  In 1998, City of Neenah voters approved a referendum to demolish the old library and spend $5 million in city funds to build a new building on the current site.  A $500,000 challenge gift was then made to the city to increase the size of the new library. The new 50,000-square-foot library building opened in June 2000 at a cost of $6 million (which included renovation and renting temporary quarters, moving to and from the temporary quarters, demolition of the old building, asbestos removal, and building and equipping the new library).

From serving 6,000 residents, the Neenah Public Library now has a service population of almost 60,000, almost 190,000 items, and 635,072 checkouts in 2024.