Sherwood Public Library

The Sherwood library was started in 1935 in a drugstore, initially with a single shelf.[1] The city took over the library in 1969, which by then had been moved to a house.[1] The city moved it to the basement of City Hall, then located in the Morback House.[1] In 1976, Sherwood's Friends of the Library was started.[1] The friends group started raising funds for a new library in 1981.[2] Groundbreaking on the new building was on May 22, 1985, after raising $106,000.[3] The new, 3,500-square-foot (330 m²) building designed by Terry Tollen opened in December 1985 on North Sherwood Boulevard.[4] This was the first dedicated library building in Sherwood.[5]

In January 2005, construction began on a new Civic Center that would include space for a new library.[6] The city sold the old library building in October 2005 to the Sherwood Presbyterian Church for $657,000.[7] The new library opened in January 2006.[8]

The library building is a two-story, brick and glass-faced structure with 47,500 square feet (4,410 m²).[9] It was designed by Thomas Hacker Architects Inc. and constructed by Howard S. Wright Construction.[6] Features include study areas, a fireplace, a community room, and computer areas.[1] The total cost for the Civic Center that includes the library was $6.7 million.[6]

As of 2014, the library has a population served of 22,588 with 11,443 registered borrowers.[9] There were four librarians out of nine total employees, and an annual budget of about $1.1 million.[9] Within its collection are 36,545 print items, 3,969 audio items, and 5,999 video items, with a total collection size of 46,708.[9] Total circulation (loans) that year was 367,240.[9]