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Augsburg Park Library is a public library in Richfield, Minnesota. A Richfield branch library of Hennepin County Library has existed in various buildings in since 1951. ==Built in 1975== Named after an adjacent park of the same name, Augsburg Park Library at 7100 Nicollet Avenue South opened in February 1975. Following the purchase of 2.8 acres of land by Hennepin County from the City of Richfield for $99,500,〔“1973 Publicity Scrapbook Summary,” http://www.hclow.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1973-Publicity-Scrapbook-Summary2.pdf〕 InterDesign, Inc. was chosen as the architect and ground was broken on December 20, 1973.〔Padden, Virginia, “Groundbreaking Ceremony for Augsburg Park Library, Richfield, Minnesota,” Minnesota Digital Library, Minnesota Reflections, http://reflections.mndigital.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16022coll19/id/107〕 The new library was two and a half times larger than its predecessor. Leading up to the approval of the construction, there was one significant and unexpected delay. Soil studies indicated that the ground at Nicollet and 72nd Avenue South consisted of alluvial soil, and needed to be removed before the building began, bumping up construction costs by $35,000.〔“1973 Publicity Scrapbook Summary,” http://www.hclow.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/1973-Publicity-Scrapbook-Summary2.pdf〕 The contract to build the new facility was awarded to Henry O. Mikkelson Company. This library was built on a portion of land previously purchased by the Village of Richfield from Augsburg College in 1949 for $60,000.〔Gervais Haynes, Theresa, “Augsburg Park: A Forgotten Dream,” Minnesota History, Winter 1967, p. 382, http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/40/v40i08p375-383.pdf〕 Costs totaled $889,810 including construction, architect’s fees, the land, landscaping and equipment.〔Hennepin County Library System, “Augsburg Park Community Library,” pamphlet, December 1974, Archives of Hennepin County Library〕 In creating the 15,000 square foot building, existing oak trees, remnants of the oak savanna, were retained, as the architects designed a building with staggered windows on the east and west sides. Before there was a library in Richfield, residents’ needs were met with bookmobile service. The first Richfield branch of the Hennepin County Library opened in February 1951 in rented quarters in a church at 6422 Lyndale Avenue South and was known as the Richfield Library.〔Stoutenburg, Adrien, “Richfield Library 24th Branch, County Library’s System, Richfield News, January 25, 1951, Archives of Hennepin County Library (Note: Adrien Stoutenburg was Richfield’s first librarian)〕 That same year, the Friends of the Richfield Library Association was established, with a plan to fund the purchase of books, furniture and other necessary items for the new library. By 1959, Richfield Library was circulating some 100,000 books per year, the largest in Hennepin County. From 1952 to 1959, patrons grew from 1,540 to 16,000, respectively.〔“The Richfield Branch Library Needs a New Home -- Now!!,” Minnesota Valley Woman’s Club and Friends of the Library, Archives of Hennepin County Library〕 In September 1952, the library moved to 6700 Portland Avenue South. Richfield’s population was growing rapidly and bookmobile stops were added to accommodate patrons. In 1961, the Hennepin County Library-Augsburg opened at 70th and Nicollet. Designed by architect Ralph Shimer, a Richfield resident, construction was funded in part through Richfield’s municipal liquor store profits in the amount of $100,000.〔Dyste, Mena, “Outline of the History of the New Richfield Library,” undated, Archives of Hennepin County Library〕 Additional funding of $20,000 was provided from Community Center Funds. Demand for services continued to grow, and resulted in the move to the new purpose-built library, its current location one block south of the 1961 locale.〔“Richfield Community Center,” City of Richfield, Minnesota, http://www.ci.richfield.mn.us/index.aspx?page=131〕 It is a geographic bookend to complement Hennepin County Central Library’s position at the north end of Nicollet Avenue. Recently, Minneapolis – St. Paul Magazine chose Augsburg Community Library as “Hennepin County’s Best Library to Read In.”〔“Richfield, Minnesota” Richfield Chamber of Commerce, p. 32, March 7, 2011, http://www.villageprofile.com/ebooks/EBK-AD0-MN-RIC-10.pdf〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Augsburg Park Library」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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