Greenwood Public Library: Books, Events, and More!
Though the Greenwood Public Library now occupies a nicely renovated modern, two-story building, its beginning was a humble one. It had a false start when Greenwood business magnate James T. Polk organized a public library in 1894, and the facility closed its doors just two years later. It wasn’t for another 20 years that the little town of Greenwood, Indiana would see a new public library spring out of the ashes, with a collection of only 35 books to loan out to local readers.
Video about the Young Adult Room at the Greenwood Public Library in Greenwood, Indiana
Mr. Polk, however, was instrumental in the new library’s continuance, albeit after his death. The Polk Memorial Community House, constructed from a large fund left to the city by Polk and his wife, became the new home of the Greenwood Public Library for almost 50 years.
In 1964, the library found a new home with almost 40,000 square feet of space all to itself. Just over ten years later, the Greenwood Public Library was the recipient of a half-million dollar, two-story addition. It is here where the library’s now quite respectable 66,000-volume collection still resides.
The Greenwood Public Library has come a long, long way since its early days. Some of the services it offers today, besides the usual loaning of books, CDs, DVDs, videos, magazines and newspapers, are computer classes and usage, interlibrary loans, the use of community rooms, an “Ask-a-Librarian” service, a well maintained listing of area clubs, a Career Center and “Teachers Connect” program.
The Friends of GPL is the local group that makes the library tick. Membership is comprised of patron volunteers who love books and are interested in helping the Greenwood Public Library to survive and prosper. In exchange, they enjoy a long list of member benefits and discounts.
The Greenwood Public Library is a bustling hub for tons of local clubs, and on almost every day of the calendar you will find several activities. From a writer’s mini-conference to the Teen 
Homeschool Book Club to a class on How to Decorate a Piggy Bank, the Greenwood Public Library offers something for every hungry mind, especially for Greenwood kids.
And for the hungry tummy, the Bookmark Café is located on the GPL’s first floor and serves up an extensive menu of special hot and cold drinks and snacks. How nice to be able to get a bottle of green tea and a Rueben Dog for only $4 total and read a library book while you enjoy them! So many other attractive food items grace the menu of the Bookmark Café, that it is now a destination in and of itself. They even do catering. “It’s not good,” says their motto, “to read on an empty stomach!”
Greenwood Public Library
310 S Meridian St
Greenwood, IN 46143
317.881.1953
317.885.5042
Fax: 317.881.1963
The Bookmark Café
Located on the First Floor
317.883.4254
