Welcome to Library of the Great Lakes

Contained within the immensity, complexity, and beauty of the Great Lakes are stories of shifting tectonic plates, volcanoes, and glaciers; of mammoths, and hunters; of First Nations, explorers, fur-traders, miners, and loggers; of great ships and bustling cities and industries that changed the world; of countless lives altered, enriched, and lost. The Great Lakes region is the home to innovation, research, technology, science, industry, architecture, poetry, theater, freshwater studies, lake effect snow, sustainable agriculture, fisheries, wilderness and wildness.

One fifth of Earth’s fresh surface water is contained in the Great Lakes. Lakes Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior are so big they create their own weather. 

It is time they had their own Library.

What's the Latest?

  • Applications Open for Fresh Coast Bookshelf 2026

    Applications Open for Fresh Coast Bookshelf 2026

    brought to you by Library of the Great Lakes

    Applications are now open for the Fresh Coast Bookshelf, a curated collection of 12 fantastic books across age range and genre that celebrate the Great Lakes, plus a full-color display kit! All local Great Lakes region public libraries are invited to apply. Up to ten libraries will be awarded the collection in this inaugural year of the Fresh Coast Bookshelf.

    Apply Now

    Applications are due by Midnight Eastern Time February 18, 2026. Please share this wonderful opportunity with your local library.

    Check out this year’s titles:

    Children’s Books
    Cover of Bud Finds Her Gift by Robin Wall Kimmerer featuring a cartoon drawing of a young girl with a dog in a meadow with flowers.
    Bud Finds Her Gift by Robin Wall Kimmerer
    A book cover with cartoon graphics of a young woman standing on the decl of a lighthouse with a young man a few feet behind her.
    The Luminous Life of Lucy Landry by Anna Rose Johnson
    Cover of the book Skating Wild on an Inland Sea. The cover features an illustration of a frozen lake with a small figure skater. The skate marks in the ice form the script of the title.
    Skating Wild on and Inland Sea by Jean E. Pendziwol

    Family Nonfiction
    The cover of The Great Lakes, Our Freshwater treasure by Barb Rosenstock featuring a pastel painting of two people and a dog in a canoe at sunrise near a sandy shore.
    The Great Lakes, Our Freshwater Treasure by Barb Rosenstock
    The cover of Plants of the Great Lakes Region by Philippa Joly. The cover includes pictures of children interacting with nature.
    A Kid’s Guide to Plants of the Great Lakes Region by Philippa Joy
    The cover to Dave Dempsey's book "The Great lakes: Fact or Fake?" with a silhouette of the Great Lakes and red questions marks in the background.
    The Great Lakes: Fact or Fake by Dave Dempsey
    YA and Adult Fiction
    The cover of Sisters In The Wind by Angeline Boulley. The cover features a red background with artwork of a woman whose face is obscured by a bird.
    Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley
    Cover for the book "The Best Part of Us" by Sally Cole-Misch. The cover features a photograph of water with distant, forested land.
    The Best Part of Us by Sally Cole-Misch
    Nonfiction
    Great Lakes Champions: Grassroots Efforts to Clean Up Polluted Watersheds by John Hartig
    A book cover featuring whimsical art of a large fish jumping out of water.
    The Accidental Reef by Lynne Heasley
    Poetry and Essays
    The cover of Fresh Water: Women Writing on the Great Lakes featuring a photograph of rolling storm clouds over water.
    Fresh Water: Women Writing on the Great Lakes, edited by Alison Swan
    What Can the Matter By? by Keith Taylor

    Visit our Fresh Coast Webpage!

  • Get Caught Up In The Gales of November!

    The Library of the Great Lakes is excited to recommend The Gales of November, John U. Bacon’s new book about the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald.

    View in our Digital Library
    Order Here
    The cover for the book "The Gales of November" by John U. Bacon. Includes a color illustration of the ship the Edmund Fitzgerald in heavy waves.

    For three decades following World War II, the Great Lakes overtook Europe as the epicenter of global economic strength. The region was the beating heart of the world economy, possessing all the power and prestige Silicon Valley does today. And no ship represented the apex of the American Century better than the 729-foot-long Edmund Fitzgerald―the biggest, best, and most profitable ship on the Lakes […] When she sank, she took all 29 men onboard down with her, leaving the tragedy shrouded in mystery for a half century.

    Read Lori Tucker Sullivan’s review of The Gales of November

    50 Years On, Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald

    50 Years On, Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald

    'The Gales of November' was a labor of love for Bacon, who, like many in the Midwest, grew up hearing stories of the tragedy. It's a weighty tome, coming in at over 400 pages, and full of interesting facts and heart-rending remembrances… nextavenue.org

    Author John U. Bacon is going on tour!

    Right now, John U. Bacon is touring the country, including several stops in the Great Lakes. For information on tour dates and ordering The Gales of November, visit his website.

    A picture of author John U. Bacon on a stormy beach.

Collage Photos:

Top Row, left to right: “Sandhill Crane Flying on and Autumn Morning,” photograph by Silke-Maria Weineck; Photo courtesy of Amanda Rockafellow; The City of Buffalo Steam Side Wheeler, Library of Congress collection; Portion of Detroit Public Library in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, 1921, Library of Congress collection; Two Indian guides(?) standing, and two women seated, in canoe, in the Sault Sainte Marie region of Michigan, Library of Congress collection; Montreal Winter Carnival 1887, Library of Congress collection.

Bottom row, left to right: Neighboring Lighthouse, Lake Michigan, St Joseph, MI, Library of Congress collection; Inspection Lincoln Motor Co. Detroit 1914 1915, Library of Congress collection; Sleeping Bear Dune_credit: johnshultzart.com; Great Lakes from space_credit: EPA; Photo courtesy of Amanda Rockafellow; McGregor Memorial Conference Cent., Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, Library of Congress collection.