by and through the School Board of Secondary Education in El Reno .
The college was housed in one room of the high school building designated as the Junior College. It was basically a lounge and meeting place and housed a few old textbooks and magazines which were randomly left for student use. The only library available for college students was the high school library, which contained only basic reference resources and few, if any, periodic publications. The high school had teachers designated as librarians until the early 1950s, when a teacher's major assignment was that of librarian.
On April 19, 1967 legislation was passed by the state of Oklahoma establishing the funding of community junior colleges in El Reno , Seminole, Poteau, Sayre, and Altus , through the State Regents for Higher Education. By the time the bill was passed, actions had begun to include Oscar Rose College (now Rose State College) and a community college for Tulsa (now Tulsa Community College ).
With funding from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education (OSRHE), El Reno Junior College was afforded an opportunity to move from the high school to the old Post Office building in downtown El Reno . The college remained in that location until moving to the current campus in 1971.
Although the college had a room designated as the library, it was still basically a textbook and used book repository. Mrs. Frances Harrison, the wife of the college's president A.R. Harrison, was hired as the first librarian and began the development of the college's library in 1968-1969. Mrs. Harrison had a Bachelor's degree in education, but not library certification. She was required to obtain the credit hours needed for certification, and she chose to do the coursework by correspondence through the University of Utah . Ms. Irene Leonard, a retired teacher, was appointed to assist Mrs. Harrison in organizing the library.
When the college built the Ray Porter complex in 1971 on the present campus, the facility included a 3700 square foot room designated as the library (now Student Services). Funding for the purchase of books and periodic materials was very limited and still depended primarily on gifts and grants. After receiving grants from both the state and federal governments, the local Board of Regents established a budget for the library. The library was expanded and strengthened in support of the academic program of the college.
Mrs. Harrison continued as librarian until May 1975. Mrs. Karen Olive was hired as the first full-time college librarian in July 1975 and served in that position until retiring in June 2003. Mrs. Olive earned her Bachelor of Science degree in religious education from Phillips University in 1961 and a Master of Library Science degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1968. Mrs. Olive was the Assistant Librarian at Phillips University from 1961-1968. She also taught in the Oklahoma City Public School System and pursued further library education before accepting the librarian position at El Reno Junior College (now Redlands Community College ).
The importance of the library in the educational program was expanded with the building of the current A.R. Harrison Learning Resources Center , which was dedicated in 1981. The new library size was 16,000 square feet on two levels, more than four times the original space. The library included a workroom, offices, conference rooms, the Board of Regents meeting room, room for audiovisual expansion, and a laboratory for individualized instruction.
As the college grew, budgets and services were increased and grants were more obtainable. In 1989, another significant expansion of the library program came with the award of an Initiative Grant from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education. This grant provided the equipment and services for linking with OCLC. The OCLC services provided the basis for the future development and expansion of the electronic library services of databases, automated catalog, and Internet service.
One of the latest changes to come to the college was the change of its name from El Reno Junior College to Redlands Community College in 1991. The college has received continuing accreditation with national and state accrediting agencies since its beginning in 1938.
Upon Mrs. Olive's retirement in 2003, Mrs. Christine Dettlaff was appointed librarian and coordinator of the Learning Resources Center . Mrs. Dettlaff earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from California State University in 1989, and a Master of Library and Information Studies from the University of Oklahoma in 1999. She worked as children's librarian for the El Reno Carnegie Library , and young adult librarian at the Midwest City Library , before coming to Redlands in 2002.
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