The Allen County Public Library (ACPL) is a public library system located in Fort Wayne, Allen County, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1895 as the Fort Wayne Public Library, the library served residents with 3,606 books out of a single room in City Hall. Today the library system includes a main library and 13 branch libraries in Fort Wayne and throughout the county. The Main Library Branch in downtown Fort Wayne is home to the Fred J. Reynolds Historical Genealogy Department which holds the largest public genealogy collection in the United States. Timeline 1895 – Library opened in City Hall on January 28 with 3,606 volumes. 1898 – Library Board purchased the Brackenridge Home at Wayne Street and Webster Street for $14,000. 1904 – Carnegie-funded library building opened. 1923 – Service to county residents began. Fort Wayne Public Library became Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County. 1944 – Main Library expansion began with purchase of Hollywood Building on Washington Boulevard to house administrative offices. 1952 – Young Adult Department opened in basement of main library, the first such department in the country. 1968 – building at Wayne and Webster Streets was dedicated August 21, 1968. 1977 – Construction of the new addition to the Main Library began. 1980 – Public Library of Fort Wayne and Allen County officially became Allen County Public Library by an act of the state legislature on January 1. 1985 – Estimated 5,500 people ate 2,731 pizzas during the system's 90th birthday celebration. 1997 – Library Board and staff began system-wide space needs analysis for all library facilities. 2001 – Allen County taxpayers approved bond financing of the $84 million library expansion project. 2007 – Renovation and expansion of Main Library nears completion. Grand opening was held on January 27, 2007, with Randall T. Shepard, Chief Justice of the Indiana Supreme Court, among the speakers. 2022 - The library eliminates fines for children 17 and younger. Genealogy The Fred J. Reynolds Historical Genealogy Department, located in the Main Library, is the largest public genealogy department in North America, home to more than 350,000 printed volumes and 513,000 items of microfilm and microfiche. Only the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, a private institution, is larger. Allen County Public Library is also a partner of WeRelate, a collaborative online genealogy database currently providing access to over one million records and two million person pages.