Editing Minneapolis Public Library (section)

{{Short description|Library}}
{{For|the current library system in Minneapolis|Hennepin County Library}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
[[File:MinneapolisCentralLibrary.jpg|thumb|300px|alt=exterior seen from slightly above street level|The new Central Library, designed by [[César Pelli]], completed in 2006]]
The '''Minneapolis Public Library''' ('''MPL''') was a [[library]] system that served the residents of [[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]], United States. It was founded in 1885 with the establishment of the Minneapolis Library Board by an amendment to the Minneapolis City Charter. Lumber baron and philanthropist [[T. B. Walker]] and other city leaders such as [[Thomas Lowry]] were members of the first library board. In 2008, after some financial difficulties, the library was merged into the [[Hennepin County Library]] system.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2008/01/11/minneapolis-pl-merges-with-hennepin-county-library/ |title=Minneapolis PL Merges with Hennepin County Library |author=Gordon Flagg |date=January 11, 2008 |publisher=American Libraries Magazine |access-date=February 10, 2018}}</ref> At the time of its merger, the library included [[Minneapolis Central Library|Central Library]] in [[downtown Minneapolis]] and 14 branch libraries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mplib.org/hours.asp|title=Hours for All Locations|date=2007-02-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070429200318/http://www.mplib.org/hours.asp |archive-date=2007-04-29}}</ref> Its collection numbered about 3.1&nbsp;million items with about 2.2&nbsp;million of these housed in the central library.<ref>According to the 2004 Minneapolis Public Library board report</ref>