History

After the death of Mr. A.C. Daugherty, a well-liked school administrator, in 1970, a community library was established and named in his honor. Mr. Daugherty’s wife, who had been the high school librarian for 20 years, donated memorial funds and personal time to get the library started. We started in a 2-car garage attached to the Township Community Building. In 1972, a referendum was passed to create a tax-supported library. After the death of Mrs. Daugherty in 1987, the bulk of the Daugherty estate was given to the Daugherty Library. Many generous donations have been made to the library, which have helped supplement its budget.

The library district serves an approximate population of 7,100 in the communities of Dupo, East Carondelet, and Sugarloaf Township.

Our Mission

The mission of the Daugherty Public Library District is to provide access to all types of information and resources which are of relevance and interest to residents of the library district. We have adopted the goals set forth in “Serving Our Public: Standards for Illinois Public Libraries” as a means to fulfill this mission.

Member of Illinois Heartland Library System

The Illinois Heartland Library System is a community of multi-type libraries developing partnerships and sharing resources in pursuit of excellent service.

We envision a future where all libraries & information partners collaborate to provide accessible & innovative services.

Illinois Heartland Library System covers 28,141 square miles and serves a population of 2,248,634. There are 545 member libraries: 40 Academic, 227 Public, 243 School and 35 Special.

IHLS was created by the merger of four regional library systems in southern and central Illinois.