On November 12, 1913, the Board of the East Cleveland Public Library met in the office of the East Cleveland Board of Education where plans for a new Library were underway. The Carnegie Corporation of New York contributed $35,000 towards the cost of a new building. John D. Rockefeller contributed $3,600 to buy land for future expansion of the Library. National Electric Lamp Association, now GE Lighting, donated 129 light bulbs for fixtures in the building. The East Cleveland Public Library (ECPL), at 14101 Euclid Avenue, stands as an original Carnegie Library dedicated in 1916. The Library officially opened on May 29, 1916. The Library celebrates this date every year at a Founder’s Day event held at the end of May.
The main library has been renovated and expanded a number of times in its 100+ year history, but most notably in 2005, when the Library included the Debra Ann November Learning Center and the Greg L. Reese Performing Arts Center. ECPL’s library system included branch libraries Caledonia (960 Caledonia Avenue) and North (1425 Hayden Avenue), but those branches closed in 2010 following the recession. Today, ECPL is a single-facility library system that continues to serve the East Cleveland School District, residents of East Cleveland, and beyond.