The Library of Michigan is the state library for the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located in Lansing, the state capital. The library is in a 5-story building called the Michigan Library and Historical Center. Its main job is to collect and protect books and materials published in Michigan, help with research, and support libraries across the state.
Since 2009, the Library of Michigan has been part of the Michigan Department of Education. One important service it offers is the Michigan eLibrary (MeL), which was one of the first online libraries on the Internet. MeL gives Michigan residents free access to articles, books, historical materials about Michigan, and carefully chosen websites.
In addition to being the state library, the Library of Michigan also runs the Michigan History Museum inside part of its building. The museum has permanent and seasonal displays about Michigan's history and is open to the public.
History
In 1828, a territorial library was created to hold laws and government documents for the territorial council. William B. Hunt was named the territorial librarian. Nine years later, the library became the state library, and Governor Stevens T. Mason chose Oren Marsh as the first state librarian.
In 1879, the state library moved to the new State Capitol in Lansing. It started as a two-story room on the second and third floors in the west wing. Today, this space is used as the Speaker's Library on the second floor and the House Appropriations Committee room on the third floor.
A fire in the State Office Building in 1951 destroyed 20,000 books and damaged 30,000 more.
Public Act 540 of 1982 established the Library of Michigan and moved control of the library from the Department of Education to the Legislative Council. Three years later, the Library of Michigan Foundation was created to help fund the library’s important programs and projects.
In 1988, the Michigan Library and Historical Center opened, increasing the Library of Michigan’s space three times and bringing all its books together in one place for the first time since the 1951 fire. In 2001, the library moved to the new Department of History, Arts and Libraries. After that department was abolished in 2009, the library returned to the Department of Education.
Building
The Library of Michigan has five stories. It holds more than 3.2 million different items that occupy over 27 miles (43 km) of shelves. The building opened in 1989 and includes one of the ten largest genealogical collections in the United States. It also has a collection of legal materials from Michigan that date back many centuries. Other features include the Michigan History Museum, the Archives of Michigan, and newspapers on microfilm from throughout the state. The State of Michigan Law Library moved to the building during the summer of 2007.