The Oak Lawn Library is the oldest branch in the city's library system. It was built in the early 19th century and served as a school before opening as a library in 1896.
In 1840, the building was cut in half and moved from its original site on Route 5 (where 99 Restaurant currently sits) to Wilbur Avenue.
In its early days, the library was a private, subscription based library to serve the people of the agrarian Searle's Corners area, which is now known as Oak Lawn Village.
The library was officially incorporated into the city's library system in 1968.
Along with the 2.5-mile move in 1840, the building has undergone several substantial renovations to serve the growing community around it. In 1965, the library gained a children's room and basement, and in the early 1990s, a new accessible entrance, restroom and 900 additional square feet of space were added.