In 1955, an enthusiastic group in Hillside received a charter to organize as the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber's first undertaking was to start a Public Library for Hillside. The Illinois Library Association promised 1,000 books to be put at the disposal of a Library as soon as space could be found. A local resident also donated many books from her own collection. On St. Patrick's Day, 1962, the library reopened under the sponsorship of the Kiwanis Club. Within two hours, 168 library cards were issued to children and another 75 became cardholders the next day. At this time, the Friends of the Library was formed to support library service by volunteering as librarians and to acquire more books for the library. Fund drives were started and the library fund was created to establish a permanent service. In 1976, the Public Library building at 405 Hillside Avenue was completed and is continuing to serve its 8,155 local residents today with holdings of approximately 50,000 titles and a variety of media from books to DVD's, from computers to comics.