Oak Lawn Public Library

9427 South Raymond Avenue
Oak Lawn IL 60453

Phone: 708-422-4990

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Description:
Within a community, local history is many times regarded as the domain of a small band of enthusiastic, well-meaning amateur historians who toil away, under-funded and generally unappreciated by the vast majority of us who stay on the sidelines. Yet, it is ironic that any display, publication, or article falling into the category of "local history" invariably elicits interest and enjoyment from virtually all our residents. Perhaps we are fascinated as to how our community came to be because it also tells part of the story of how we, as individuals, came to be.

Unfortunately, Oak Lawn does not, at this time, have a separate building or a room, accessible to the public, in which to house materials of local interest. One of the primary purposes of this portion of the Library's home page is to provide a means of examining some of our existing materials from the comfort of home or office via the internet. Currently there are five general categories covered: photographs, documents, an index to our local newspapers, the full text of the minutes of recent meetings held by local governmental bodies, and an index to obituaries found in local newspapers.

The funds to create the database of photographs were generously provided in the form of a grant by the Illinois State Library. A special thanks to those who are diligently gathering together and preserving our local heritage. Without their efforts, the history of our village will gradually fade away.