Royal Oak Public Library

01 / The story of this place

Make time for these

It all started in the 1850s, when Dr. Brewster opened his spare room to neighbors as a reading room. Voters approved a library tax in 1916, and in February 1917 the library opened on the second floor of the Royal Oak Savings Bank, at first without chairs or tables. Elizabeth V. Briggs, its first trained librarian, sorted through 3,500 books to get it going. After several moves along Main Street, the current building opened in April 1963 with 80,000 volumes. Voters backed a $1.3 million renovation in 2003, and the library reopened, bigger and brighter, in February 2006.

1. Makerspace, study rooms, auditorium and computer labs
2. Programs are free and open to everyone
3. LibCabinet book vending machine at Woodward Corner Market: check out up to 5 books even when the library is closed
4. Local history collection with Royal Oak high school yearbooks