General Info

About the HCL Library services, in one form or another, have been offered for nearly 125 years in the city of Hillsdale. In 1879 a group of women formed a library association formed with the intention to "circulate good literature among the people of Hillsdale." The books they collected would eventually become the foundation of the Mitchell Public Library, which opened in 1908. The Mitchell Public Library served Hillsdale for 95 years until the construction of Hillsdale Community Library in 2003, a two million dollar state-of-the-art library building. Growing from the initial collection of 2, 666 volumes, Hillsdale Community Library collection currently stands at over 35, 000 volumes and continues to grow. The new library also includes dedicated space for children's programming, a young adults' area and expanded technology. The new facility also includes a spacious community meeting room that not only provides programming space for the library, but also for local civic and other organizations, to use for presentations and meetings. The Ladies Library Association of Hillsdale was formed in 1879 with a collection of 522 books. This collection formed the basis the Mitchell Public Library The library's Historical Room was established in 1916 and is continuing to grow under the care of the Mitchell Research Center