Who We Are
The Jerseyville Public Library is located at 105 North Liberty Street, Jerseyville, IL. The Library is supported by city taxpayers through their property taxes; all city residents are eligible to obtain a library card. Non-residents who wish to check out materials from the Library may purchase a card for use by your household for the equivalent cost of what city residents pay in taxes.
The Jerseyville Public Library has served the needs of Jerseyville and Jersey County residents since it was established in 1894. The Library moved into its Carnegie facility in 1904. As Jersey County grew, library use increased so in 1965 the Library joined the Lewis & Clark Library System. This made additional materials available for patrons through intralibrary loan. In 1986, with the assistance of a Build Illinois State grant, Federal Revenue Sharing, and a local fund drive, a major expansion of the Jerseyville Public Library was undertaken. Completed in 1987, the Library more than doubled its size. The expansion and renovation also allowed the entire building to become handicap accessible. In 1991, the Library automated in the Lewis & Clark consortia, Gatenet. Through Gatenet and other online databases, the Jerseyville Public Library could easily request in materials for patrons. On July 1, 2012 the Lewis & Clark Library System merged with three other library systems in Illinois: Lincoln Trail, Rolling Prairie, and Shawnee. Together we are the Illinois Heartland Library System. As a result, the new library system also has merged each library's Local Library System Automation Program (LLSAP) to form SHARE. SHARE encompasses 427 libraries throughout the southern half of Illinois. The Library embarked on a new Expansion Project in Summer of 2024. This new Expansion will add much needed space and will encompass a new building in the former parking lot and will be connected to the existing building. The Library obtained a grant from the State of Illinois and financial assistance from the City of Jerseyville to embark on this newest project.
On April 9, 2013, SHARE went live with a new automation platform with over 1,600,000 patrons and nearly 10,000,000 items!
Our friendly and professional staff is eager to serve you. Welcome to the Jerseyville Public Library!
Our Mission