About Us
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The Vespasian Warner Public Library District (VWPLD) serves Clinton, Wapella, Hallsville, Lane, Dewitt and surrounding areas. We offer books, magazines, DVDs, Blu-Rays, CDs, audio books, eContent, videogames, public access computers, wi-fi access, learning kits, reference help and meeting rooms.
VWPLD is part of the Illinois Heartland Library System (IHLS).
IHLS connects and serves public, academic, school, and special libraries throughout the southern half of the state. IHLS is responsible for inter-library loan and item delivery. For more information about IHLS, please visit http://www.illinoisheartland.org.
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Boundary Map of the Vespasian Warner Public Library District.
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The Vespasian Warner Public Library District strives to be a welcoming place that meets the diverse needs of its communities through high-quality resources and supportive services to stimulate and facilitate creativity, curiosity and learning.
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Connecting People Sharing Knowledge Enabling Life-Long Learning
LIBRARY
Mission & Vision
LIBRARY
Culture Statement & Core Values
Culture Statement
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Our library is more than just a building or a collection. It is the people who work every day to serve all patrons in our community in a welcoming, judgement-free environment. We have made our library a safe space, where everyone can be themselves, learn, and explore new ideas. Our library should serve as a mirror and a window: all of our patrons deserve to see themselves reflected in our collection and our collection also serves as a window to the wider world.
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At VWPLD, we value each employee’s contributions and talents and administration is open to ideas and opinions from all staff members. We are flexible and will adapt services to meet our patrons’ evolving needs. We collaborate with each other and with partner organizations to make our community a better place.
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Core Values
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Inclusion
Everyone is welcome at the library. We value differing points of view and treat all patrons and staff members with respect. We provide materials and services in a variety of formats and subjects to meet patrons’ varying needs.
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Learning for All
We encourage and celebrate life-long learning. We recognize that not all of our materials will be relevant to every patron, but we strive to have a diverse collection that represents a variety of viewpoints and experiences. Every patron has the right to decide for themselves what materials to check out.
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Relationships
We understand the importance of fostering positive relationships with our patrons and community partners.
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Preserving History
We believe our library has a responsibility to preserve the past for future generations. We maintain our historic facility and are the caretakers of DeWitt County history.
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The Free Clinton Library (FCL) was founded in 1901 by the Clinton Chapter
of the P.E.O. and given to the city. The FCL's collection of 700 books was
housed in the same building as Rundle's Meat Market.
Also in 1901, long-time Clinton resident Clifton H. Moore bequeathed his
collection of more than 7,000 books to the city, provided a proper building
could be provided to house them.
Moore's son-in-law, Congressman Vespasian Warner, donated the
money and land necessary to build a new, permanent library.
Construction began in 1906 and the Vespasian Warner Public Library
(VWPL) opened in 1908.
In April of 1989, a referendum was passed to change VWPL from a city to a district library. The Vespasian Warner Public Library District provides services to Clinton, Lane, DeWitt, Wapella, and outlying areas.
In 1992 VWPL opened a new addition to the public. The addition, called the "New Building" by staff, houses the circulating collections, public-access computers, meeting rooms, and the DeWitt County Genealogical Society (DCGS) and VWPL's local history collection. For information about DCGS, please visit their website. The Old building houses the adult audio/visual collection, magazines and newspapers, and the library's Archive and Special Collections. For more information about the Archive, please call the library or email Bobbi (perryman@vwarner.org).
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Vespasian Warner was born in Mount Pleasant, Illinois (now Farmer City) and moved with his family to Clinton as a small child. Warner was studying law when the Civil War broke out in 1861. He was an early volunteer and saw action at several important battles including Vicksburg, Shiloh, and Atlanta. Warner served in the U.S. Army until 1867 when he enrolled in Harvard Law School. After graduation, he set up a practice in Clinton. He served as a member of the U.S. Congress and was a member of Theodore Roosevelts's cabinet as Commissioner of Pensions.
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He resided in Clinton until his death in 1925.
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LIBRARY
History
Vespasian Warner
1842-1925
Your Right To Know
The Vespasian Warner Public Library supports providing and sharing official information about the operations of the Library with members of the community.
Support Staff:
Aric Monkman - Circulation Supervisor
Emily Dunham - Adult Program Coordinator
Rachel Deavers - Circulation Clerk
Lucas Snow - Maintenance
Kelsey Gillman - Youth Services Assistant
Christin Haws - Circulation Clerk
Olivia Totten - Youth Services Assistant
Adara Meyen - Circulation Clerk
Callie Hill - Youth Services Assistant
April Harvey - Circulation Clerk
Trevor Leggett - Maintenance Assistant
Madyson Gillman - Clerk/Outreach
Marcus Woods - Circulation Clerk