(H.W. Wilson Company, 2006) Swisher, Linda Herrick
The Hammond Public Library was established in 1903 through the efforts of the Shakespeare Club, comprising many of the city’s teachers. It was housed in a Hammond millinery shop. Hammond’s leading citizens donated weighty tomes and magazines of interest to them and their friends. In the beginning, residents had to be recommended for membership and pay a subscription. Their names still exist in the original minutes of the library board.