Editing St. Joseph County, Indiana (section)

=== History ===
The St. Joseph County Public Library was founded in 1889. Originally known as the South Bend Public Library, it was founded by the South Bend School Corporation and managed by Evelyn Humphries out of a floor of the Oliver Opera House. Humphries soon secured funding for the building of the Main Library which opened to the public in 1896. It was known as "The Castle" due to its unique architecture.<ref name="Michiana Memory">{{cite web| url=http://michianamemory.sjcpl.org/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16827coll16 |access-date=November 25, 2018 |title=Library History |publisher=[[Michiana Memory]]}}</ref>
In 1902, [[Virginia Tutt]] became the second library director. She opened the first library branch in Washington High School in 1918, which often served as a community center for Polish and Hungarian immigrants. The Betty Ruth Spiro Memorial Library replaced "The Castle" in 1959 as the new main library building in downtown South Bend. This building served the community until its renovation in 1992 led to a fire and subsequent damage from smoke and fire sprinklers. The renovation continued and the library was able to open 7 days later thanks to help from the community.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our History |url=http://sjcpl.lib.in.us/our-history |publisher=Saint Joseph County Public Library |access-date=November 26, 2018}}</ref>

In 2016, Main Library began looking at the need for an expanded space in downtown South Bend to meet the needs of the growing community. After working with consultants and architects, it was decided in October 2018 that Main Library will expand to include a community learning center, renovated exterior, and inner courtyard.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Parrott |first1=Jeff |title=Downtown South Bend library proposes dramatic, $38-million overhaul |url=https://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/downtown-south-bend-library-proposes-dramatic--million-overhaul/article_2232a556-8427-5b6a-88b2-df1b984a5956.html |publisher=South Bend Tribune |access-date=November 26, 2018}}</ref> St. Joseph County is considering cutting the library's funding by almost $500,000 a year. As a result, on September 5, 2019, hundreds of residents protested in the streets, and all library branches closed early. Overflow crowds backed the county council meeting to show their support for the library.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://wsbt.com/news/local/st-joseph-county-libraries-closing-early-in-protest-of-funding-plan|title=St. Joseph Co. libraries close early in protest of plan to cut funding by close to $500k|access-date=September 10, 2019 |publisher=WSBT News |date=September 5, 2019}}</ref> The library ended up losing the funding two years later.