About Southport Branch Library

The Southport Branch Library opened its doors at 6840 South Madison Avenue in the Madison Square Shopping Center, on November 6, 1967. It offered a collection of about 8,200 books housed in the small 2,750 square foot storefront facility.

In line with IMCPL's policy of establishing permanent, larger, library-owned facilities, a building site for a new Southport Library was purchased on October 22, 1971, and the new 15,700 square-foot facility at 2630 East Stop 11 Road was opened on April 1, 1974. Even before the move to the new facility, a group of Perry Township citizens organized a campaign to raise funds to purchase additional books for the new library. More than $5,000 was raised in the "Bucks for Books" project, tangible evidence of the high regard with the residents of the community hold for the library.