Sumner Library

Sumner Library is a neighborhood library located in the Near-north neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Originally part of the Minneapolis Public Library, it became part of the merged Hennepin County Library in 2008. The Carnegie Library was a haven for Jewish immigrants to the city in the early 20th century. The Minneapolis Public Library moved its entire collection of Yiddish and Hebrew works to the branch library in response to a survey showing that 95% of the patrons were Jewish immigrants, some of whom learned English there and participated in social clubs in the building. The Tudor Revival building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.Sumner and the 14 other libraries of Minneapolis Public Library were merged into the combined urban/suburban Hennepin County Library in 2008. The library celebrated its 100th anniversary on Oct. 10, 2015.Establishment and Carnegie GrantSumner Library opened on June 5, 1912 in a rented store room at 901 6th Ave. N in Minneapolis. Young people flocked to the library for reading materials, and many adults used the library’s collection of juvenile materials to learn English. Approximately 90% of the library’s patrons were Jewish immigrants. From the outset, reading materials in Russian, Yiddish, and Hebrew were in high demand, and the foreign language collection was entirely “read out” by 1913.