National Register of Historic Places

Oswego Public Carnegie Library

Oswego, Labette County, Kansas
Listed
June 24, 1987
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
87000956

About this property

Oswego Public Library (OPL) is a Carnegie Library located in Oswego, Kansas, United States. It is a member of the Southeast Kansas Library System, a consortium of over 100 independent libraries in Southeast Kansas that provides services to member libraries such as inter-library loan. The local library association that would later become Oswego Public Library was formed in 1867. In the early 20th Century they petitioned Andrew Carnegie, and in 1912 the original library building was constructed at 704 Fourth Street in Oswego, Kansas at the cost of $5,000. The library building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, and when the building was expanded with a grant in 1995, great care was taken to preserve the historic architecture stylings of the building. In 2006 the Southeast Kansas Library System announced Oswego Public Library had won its "Library Makeover," a grant project worth over US$15,000 for interior re-design. Under the direction of OPL Librarian/Director Elizabeth Turner, the project was completed on-time and under budget by the summer of 2007. OPL receives funding from memorials, the city of Oswego, Kansas, the Southeast Kansas Library System, as well as the State of Kansas. Oswego Public Library provides library cards free of charge to local residents, provided they can provide proof-of-residency. The Library has a collection of over 16,000 fiction and non-fiction books, with specialized areas for young children's, teen, and adult fiction, as well as research areas for non-fiction. OPL also boasts an impressive five-year catalog of back issues of all of its nearly fifty magazine subscriptions, providing patrons with a wealth of periodical literature for research and pleasure. Hundreds of current CDs, DVDs, Books on Tape, and Books on CD are also available for checkout. OPL works with the State Library of Kansas and provides related services, such as Kansas State Library Cards. In the late 2000s, OPL received its first two Gates Foundation computers for Patron Access. Since then, those machines have been supplemented by other library technology purchases and at least two more Gates machines. In total, the library provides seven computers for patron access, including a laptop for use inside the library. OPL also offers free 802.11b/g Wi-Fi and low-cost printing. The Library has used an automated cataloging system since 1990, one of the first in the area to do so. In 2006 the Southeast Kansas Library System announced that Oswego Public Library had won a US$15,000 grant for an interior redesign. Along with a US$7,000 pledge from the Oswego Public Library library board, this idea became known as "Project OSWEGO" and yielded great results, including a new young adult section, an entirely redesigned children's area, complete with a life-size tree sculpture. A coffee house style reading area, complete with daily national and regional newspapers and weekly newspapers, pub seating, and an adequate selection of coffees and teas, was also added.

Location

704 Fourth St.
Oswego, Labette County, Kansas
37.16711, -95.10783

Categories

EDUCATIONARCHITECTURESOCIAL HISTORY
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

US Post Office-Oswego
Industrial
0.2 mi
Riverside Park
Listed
0.7 mi
Parsons Filled Arch Bridge
Industrial
12.5 mi
Soffietti-Boccia Grocery Store
Industrial
12.8 mi
Columbus Public Carnegie Library
Industrial
14.6 mi

Questions about this property

When was Oswego Public Carnegie Library listed on the National Register?

Oswego Public Carnegie Library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 24, 1987.

What type of historic resource is Oswego Public Carnegie Library?

Oswego Public Carnegie Library is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Oswego Public Carnegie Library?

The period of significance for Oswego Public Carnegie Library is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Oswego Public Carnegie Library?

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