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 Children’s 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 over 39,000 volumes of books and over 50 periodicals. We also have a collection of audiobooks (both books on CD and Playaway) and videos.

Fiction Collection

We have approximately six thousand titles in our fiction collection, including numerous award-winning books, as well as best sellers, and other popular titles.

Nonfiction

Our second largest collection in the library, 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 make up roughly 34% of the entire library collection.

Large Print Books

We have over 1,600 Large Print titles including both fiction and nonfiction.

Audio Books

Our Audio Book collection has over 1,500 titles. The collection includes both books on CD and Playaway.

Newspapers

The library subscribes to The Hillsdale Daily News and The Wall Street Journal.

Periodicals

The library subscribes to numerous weekly and monthly publications such as Newsweek, Time, Forbes, Taste of Home, etc. Patrons may check out periodicals.

Special Collections

The Mitchell Research Center, next door to the Hillsdale Community Library, maintains a collection of materials related to the history of Hillsdale and the surrounding areas. The MRC collection consists of birth and death records, census information, family histories, etc and is cared for by the Friends of the Mitchell Research Center, a non-profit organization.

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 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. 

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Rules applying to all meetings

> View / print Meeting Rooms Policy

The Hillsdale Community Library offers its meeting room(s) to public groups or individuals wishing to present programs or hold meetings which serve the community’s needs

1-4 hours of usage: $25 for 1 room, $50 for 2 rooms, $75 for 3 rooms  4+ hours of usage: $50 for 1 room, $100 for 2 rooms, $150 for 3 rooms            

The following rules apply to all meetings held at the HCL

• Groups using the rooms agree not to hold responsible the Hillsdale Community Library, the City of Hillsdale, its agents and representatives, from any and all suits, actions, claims, or demands arising from injuries to people or damage to or loss of property belonging to the organizations using the meeting rooms.
• Smoking, alcoholic beverages, and any illegal substances are not permitted on library property.
• Payment is due 1 week prior to the event. If the event is booked within 1 week of the event, payment is due at the time the room(s) is booked. Payment must be made by cash or check payable to: Hillsdale community Library. We DO NOT take credit cards.
• No refunds will be given, no exceptions. 
• Each group is responsible for setting up tables, chairs, furniture and any equipment prior to the meeting and for returning all library property to its designated location at the close of the meeting.
• The group is responsible for leaving the room in a clean and orderly condition and will be billed for any damage to the room as a result of the group’s use.
• Eating and drinking in the main rooms of the library are strictly forbidden. Any group wishing to serve light refreshments must provide its own utensils for serving and preparation. Articles of food and drink must be consumed in the meeting room so designated and not carried into the halls, restroom or the library proper.
• Meetings must comply with the “Open Meetings Act” as it applies to the group.
• Granting the use of its meeting rooms does not imply endorsement or approval of the group, the meeting, or the ideas presented at the meeting by the library, its board and its employees, or the City of Hillsdale.
• This policy is subject to review and modification when deemed necessary by the Hillsdale Community Library Board at its sole discretion.
• Room rental is only available during our regular library hours of operation. After hours rental of our meeting rooms is NOT available to the public except at Library Director’s discretion.

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. It may take a little time, but we usually can find the materials in 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.