It's Time for a Reading Renaissance Reading is the key that opens the door to learning and imagination. You, the citizens of Minneapolis, own about 425,000 children's books, all awaiting you at your nearest Minneapolis Public Library. A library card is free. Science has proven that the stimulation, interaction, and nurturing received by infants and toddlers has a dramatic, lifelong impact on their intelligence and overall well being. Listening to stories and poems, experiencing the social interaction of reading aloud, and encountering hands-on manipulation all help to develop the skills young children need for school readiness.
Books create memories, provide special moments, inspire everlasting friendships.
They capture the imagination and give us a sense of community, history, and stability. Together we can make a reading renaissance happen in our community. As the New Central Library project moves forward, interest in its progress continues to increase. Current planning points to a mixed-use development within a block of the present site, near the proposed downtown route for the Hiawatha light rail transit line on 5th Street. Both the Library Board and City Council have approved the Building Program, developed based on community needs and the future role of library services.