About the Hillsdale Community Library

Hillsdale Community Library is dedicated to serving the informational, educational, and recreational needs of the citizens of Hillsdale.  As a public agency, the library is maintained as a service to the community and the people who support it.  Service of the library is not limited to individuals but extends to support the civic, educational and cultural activities of groups and organizations.  The library cooperates with other organizations, agencies, and institutions to provide library service.

The vision for this library builds on the strengths and achievements of the past and envisions a future in which the library reflects the changing needs and desires of those who use it and reaches out in a creative way to attract new users.  The library provides a welcoming environment to all, makes the best technology available to serve the information needs of the community, and encourages lifelong learning.

The Hillsdale Community Library offers a vast array of services to assist the members of our community.

Children and Young Adult Collections

The library maintains a separate collection of children and young adult books and materials. Throughout the summer, as well as during the school year, the library has very active children and young adult programs. For more information, please contact our Children’s Librarian.

Interlibrary Loan

Interlibrary loan service is available for patrons with requests which cannot be found in our library. If we don’t have it, we will try and get it for you from another public library.

Library Tours

We will give a detailed tour of the library to any group which requests it. The tour must be prearranged, but your group is welcome to come and browse informally if a tour is not necessary. We welcome class visits!

Public Access Computers

For patron use, the library has 10 public access computers available which are equipped with word processing, database, spreadsheet, and presentation software, and are connected to the internet.

Public Meeting Rooms

The library offers its meeting room(s) to public groups wishing to present programs or to hold meetings which serve the community’s needs. See meeting room policies for details.

Public Photocopier/Fax Machine

A photocopier is available for use in the library at a charge of 10 cents for 8 ½ x 11 black and white copies. Color copies are 25 cents per page. To fax, the charge is 1 dollar for every page. Faxes outside of the US are 5 dollars per page. A fax cover sheet is required to be used. These are provided at no cost.

School Visits

Our Librarian visits area elementary and middle schools to present information on the library and our dedicated Children’s Programs.

Wireless Internet Access

Wireless 802.11b/g access is available in most areas of the building (including in the meeting rooms). Patrons must have their network card configured to use TCP/IP, and to obtain an IP address automatically via DHCP. Connection points (RJ45 jacks) can also be found throughout the building.

The Hillsdale Community Library collection currently consists of almost 50,000 materials available. This consists of books, audiobooks, DVDs, interactive kits.

Fiction Collection

We have nearly 20,000 titles in our fiction collection, including numerous award-winning books, as well as best sellers, and other popular titles.

Nonfiction

Our second largest collection of roughly 10,000 titles, the nonfiction likewise includes award-winning books, best sellers, and other popular titles.

Reference

Our reference collection consists of such items as encyclopedias, almanacs, language dictionaries, a register of Michigan Manufacturers, atlases, statistical abstracts, and many other source materials.

Children & Young Adult

The library maintains a separate collection of books for children and young adults. The children and young adult collections contain a combined total of 16,000 items.

Large Print Books

We have over 2,500 Large Print titles, perfect for those who struggle with smaller texts!

Audio Books

Between audiobooks and Playaway devices, there is roughly 1,500 audio items available.

Newspapers

The library subscribes to The Hillsdale Daily News.

Other Collections

The library also maintains a collection of approximately 1,500 medical books and other scientific resources, which are available to the public for use.

The Hillsdale Community Library offers its meeting room(s) to public groups wishing to present programs or hold meetings which serve the communities needs. Please call 517-437-6470 to reserve the room. There is a fee for the use of the room.

We have 3 meeting rooms available to rent during library hours. Each room can seat 25 people and currently, the wall can be retracted to make a larger room to seat 50-55. 

Click here for more information

Depending on your residency status, all you need to do to get a free library card is bring in your picture ID and fill out a brief form. You’ll be ready to check out books as soon as we put you in our computer system. If you do not live within our service area, there is a $40/year subscription fee.

The subscription fee is only for those outside of our service area. The cost is $40/year. We came up with this yearly payment, as this is how much our patrons within our service area pay via taxes to the library each year.

You may contact the Friends of the Mitchell Research Center next door in the Mitchell building (next door to the library) for local information.

Ask at the front desk and we may be able to order what you’re looking for through our interlibrary loan system, called MeL, or the Michigan eLibrary. It may take a little time, but we usually can find the materials for free from another library.

We currently have ten computers designated for public access. Each computer has access to the internet as well as to other standard software titles.

The library offers wireless access to the internet and to the card catalog. If you need help connecting to the network, please ask at the front desk.