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The Hennepin County Library is the public library system for Hennepin County, Minnesota. The library offers several different resources for Hennepin County residents, aimed at helping residents read, graduate, engage, work, and learn. In addition to book-lending services, these services include educational programming, internet access, and research assistance. The Hennepin County Library is part of the Hennepin County government. The Hennepin County Library reports to the Hennepin County Administration and the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners.
The Hennepin County Library Board is an advisory board, which consists of Hennepin County residents and is appointed by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners. Current members of the Hennepin County Library Board include: Adja K. Kaba Ann, Katherine Blauvelt, Caitlin Cahill, Chris Damsgard, Tim Dolan, Barb Fenton, Jonathan Gaw, Sandy Johnson, Samuel Neisen, Margy O’Neill-Ligon, and Erin Vrieze Daniels.
Hennepin County is the most populated county in Minnesota. As of 2010, the population of Hennepin County was estimated at 1,152,425. The county seat of Hennepin County is Minneapolis. The city was named for the 17th century explorer Louis Hennepin. Hennepin County is included in the Minneapolis- St. Paul- Bloomington MN-WI Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Cities, towns, and other areas included in whole or in part in Hennepin County include: Bloomington, Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Champlin, Corcoran, Crystal, Dayton, Deephaven, Eden Prairie, Edina, Excelsior, Golden Valley, Greenfield, Greenwood, Hanover, Hopkins, Independence, Long Lake, Loretto, Maple Grove, Maple Plain, Medicine Lake, Medina, Minneapolis, Minnetonka, Minnetonka Beach, Minnetrista, Mound, New Hope, Orono, Osseo, Plymouth, Richfield, Robbinsdale, Rockford, Rogers, Shorewood, Spring Park, St. Anthony Village, St. Bonifacius, St. Louis Park, Tonka Bay, Wayzata, Woodland, and Fort Snelling.
The general role of the Hennepin County Library is to increase information access and education for Hennepin County. It does this through a comprehensive library system that includes 41 different library locations. While local libraries are located in communities to make community access easier for residents, all Hennepin County residents are welcome to use any one of those facilities.
Hennepin County Library offers a number of different programs. These programs include: Homework Help; Early Learning; Arts and Culture; Books and Readings; Business and Employment; Computers and Technology; Genealogy and Local History; Health and Wellness; Legal Resources; and Adult Learning.
The Homework Help program provides homework help resources for K-12 students in Hennepin County. These resources include free online tutoring for students of all ages. Students may access this tutoring from home or from a computer in the library. Tutors are available from 1pm to 11pm. There are English and Spanish speaking tutors.
The Early Learning program encourages reading readiness in young children. It encourages literacy by incorporating five literacy strategies: talking together, singing together, reading together, writing or drawing together, and playing together.
The Arts and Culture program brings art into the library buildings. The public libraries display artwork. The library also sponsors arts and craft programs, as well as cultural education programs.
The Books and Reading program allows patrons to explore books and writing through the library’s programs. Some of the resources offered include book clubs, writing and discussion groups, and author talks.
The Business and Employment program uses library resources to help job seekers and those who want to improve their employability. This allows people to increase their job skills, engage in career development, and small business development.
The Computers and Technology program lets people use computers and technology at any of the libraries. You must have a valid library card through the Hennepin County Library to use the computer.
The Genealogy and Local History program offers users access to resources, including computer databases, the can help with genealogy tracking. It also offers several local history resources.
The Health and Wellness program is designed to help uses find information on medical care, health conditions and treatments, healthy living, and wellness. It includes access to a number of paid databases.
The Legal Resources program provides resources for legal research, legal forms, and finding legal help, including access to Westlaw. While librarians cannot give legal advice, they can often help patrons find the legal information that they need to answer their own legal questions.
The Adult Learning program provides continuing education and remedial education resources for adult learners. These resources include GED and standardized test preparation.
Hennepin County Library cardholders can use any library in the Hennepin County Library system. To find a location near you, you can use the library branch locator tool. Simply enter your zip code and the locator will return the location of library branches near you. You can find out what services those branches offer by looking at the individual branch
Library Administration
Lois Langer Thompson, Director
12601 Ridgedale Dr.
Minnetonka, MN 55305
Phone: 612-543-8500
General Information: 612-543-5669
Renewals: 612-543-8811
Technical Help Desk: 612-543-8750
Volunteers: 612-543-8633
Friends of the Hennepin County Library: 612-543-8100
The Hennepin County Library is the library system for Hennepin County Minnesota. It has 41 branch libraries and provides a wide variety of services to county library users, from the traditional book lending to learning programs, job skills enhancement, computer literacy programs and computer usage, and genealogy programs. The Hennepin County Library is overseen by the Hennepin County Library Board, a group of people appointed by the Hennepin County Commissioners.