About Local History
History of the Local History Collection
The Inter-Institutional History Committee, consisting of Shaker Library, the City of Shaker Heights, the Shaker Heights City Schools, the Shaker Historical Society, and interested citizens, began developing the Local History Project in 1994.
In 1998, the Cleveland Foundation, the John P. Murphy Foundation, and the George Gund Foundation granted partial funding for the project. The library provided about a third of the annual budget of nearly $100,000, and the Historical Society gave in-kind contributions of approximately $4,000. The City and the Schools each donated $10,000 a year to the three-year project. In 2001, the library began fully funding the project. The Local History Collection is now part of the Adult Services Department of Shaker Library, and is supported in part by the Sheldon “Skip” Baumoel Fund and the Walter N. Lawson Trust.
Moreland Local History Room Access
Contact the Local History Librarian with your research request:
The Local History Room is usually open for visitors at the following times, though we encourage you to reach out to confirm availability.
- Mondays 2 – 4 p.m.
- Tuesdays 12 – 3 p.m.
- Wednesdays 2 – 4 p.m.
History of the Shaker Heights Public Library (Main Library and Bertram Woods Branch)
- “Bertram Woods Branch Library History,” a Blog on the Occasion of Its 50th Anniversary in 2010.
- “Bringing the Outside In,” by Lyndsey Brennan. Shaker Life, Winter 2024.
- “Shaker Heights Public Library,” by Richard Raponi. Cleveland Historical.
- “Shaker Heights Public Library: Serving the Community for 75 Years,” by Sue Starrett Shaker Life, Oct-Nov 2012.
- “Some Notes on the Life of Bertram William Woods,” by Heber MacWilliams, PhD, January 19, 2024.