Oil Creek Library District
| Established | May 1996 |
|---|---|
| Location | 2 Central Ave Suite #1 Oil City, Pennsylvania 16301 |
| Collection | |
| Size | approx. 500 professional titles |
| Access and use | |
| Population served | 145,000 across Clarion, Jefferson, and Venango Counties |
| Website | Oil Creek Library District |
The Oil Creek Library District is an administrative unit designated by the Pennsylvania Office of Commonwealth Libraries and charged with facilitating and enhancing public library service in Clarion, Venango, and Jefferson Counties. The District's offices are currently located at the Oil City Library, a public library serving approximately 11,000 people in the city and surrounding areas. The Oil City Library was built in 1911 with a $44,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie on land purchased for the project by the Belle Lettres Club, a local women's literary society.
History
The Oil Creek Library District is the successor to the now defunct Clarion Library District. The District was created in May 1996. The first Administrator was Kay Ensle and the first District Consultant was Julie Schill. The District made considerable progress under Julie Schill's guidance. Emerging technologies were embraced and libraries entered into the digital age.
In 2006, after several years of vacancy, the role of District Consultant was assumed by Daniel Parker. Since then there has been a revitalization of the District. New training and continuing education opportunities have been developed, new district services have been created and a clear strategic plan for future library development has been instituted. Under Mr. Parker's leadership, libraries in the District have further developed Teen/YA Programs, expanded their legislative advocacy, participated in the Gates Foundation Opportunity Online Grant, and have embraced new models of non-profit governance.
In May 2008 Bruce George was appointed District Administrator and the District Center Library expanded its hours of operation.
District Services
The Oil Creek Library District provides professional consultation to its member libraries on all issues and topics pertaining to public libraries and the library profession. Additionally, the District provides Full IDS Membership, MARC Magician Subscriptions, Computer/Technology Support, Inter-Library Loan Support, and a variety of Continuing Education opportunities to its members.
Library resources
The Oil Creek Library District maintains subscriptions to two databases, Learn-A-Test and HeritageQuest, for the benefit of the patrons at its member libraries. The District also has a collection of Teen Book Club Kits and Bi-Folkal Kits, which it loans to libraries for senior programming. Additionally, there is an ever growing collection of professional materials. These materials are available for loan to member libraries and are a source of reference for the District Consultant. The Library District and its member libraries are members of the Access PA statewide library system.
External links
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