The Idabel Public Library was founded in 1910 by the Pioneer Reading Club. The club was comprised of 20 volunteer members. Each member originally donated 2 books to give the new library its total of 40 initial volumes.
The library was originally placed in a borrowed corner of a local law office. It became an instant success especially with the summer children. The members of the club took turns keeping it open. Books and materials continued to be donated by patrons and club members.
Some time later the library moved again to a local insurance office where it stayed until post-World War I. It was at this time the ladies of the Pioneer Reading Club focused their attention on the newly decommissioned “Liberty Bank” building which was established by the federal government during the war to sell war bonds. The building was given to the Pioneer Reading Club to be used as a library with the understanding it had to be moved from the center of Idabel. After undergoing a couple of moves the small building settled at what is now the corner of Martin Luther King Drive and Avenue ‘A’, where it stood until post-World War II.
As World War II was drawing to an end the ladies were asked yet again to move the tiny World War I liberty bonds building. The small reading club secured help in the form of yearly pledges of $25.00 each from the Idabel Chamber of Commerce, Lion’s Club, Pierian Study Club, the 20th Century Study Club, and the Business & Professional Women’s Club with other local clubs joining in later.
It was at this time our first library board was established. A Chairperson, Secretary/Treasurer and eight regular members were appointed from the various supporting organizations. With the newly formed board and a small viable budget the board hired Mrs. George Dean to open and operate the small library for six hours per week; two hours each Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. This financial setup also allowed the library to begin purchasing a few new books annually for the new library.
The next goal was to find a new location or building to house the growing library. The land they were interested in was discovered to belong to the Idabel Public School systems and the school board was not interested in selling the property. Instead they offered the library board a 99 year lease on the property. The library board accepted the lease offer, sold the old Liberty Bonds building and began to seek funding for the new building. A local young architect drew up the plans for the new building as his donation. The new building was completed and opened for business in March of 1947.
In the early 1970’s the county passed a two mill ad valorem tax for the funding of the library. In 1972 the Idabel Public Library became a member of the Choctaw Nation Multi-County Library System.
In 1975 a building fund was established for the current 10,000 sq. foot facility. It was to also include a community room. Construction began in January 1976 and the facility was completed and opened for business in the fall of that year. It was also during this time the present librarian, Mrs. Tillie Crow stepped down from the librarian position and Mrs. Linda DeBerry became the new librarian. In 1977 the Idabel Library Friends, Inc. was organized.
During the next decade the Idabel Public Library received new materials and equipment ranging from a Black Experience collection, for having a high African American population, to its first computer with a CD-ROM drive. In 1985 Mrs. Linda DeBerry resigned from the Idabel Public Library and Mrs. Linda Potts became Head Librarian. In January of 1986 the Choctaw Multi-County Library System officially became the Southeastern Public Library System of Oklahoma (SEPLSO).
In the 1990’s the library received a 4 mill raise in the ad valorem taxes. It was in the last year of the millennium that the library began to provide access to the internet for patrons as an informational resource and went from manual operations to a completely automated system. The library automation system, Sirsi, was in use and connected together all 15 SEPLSO libraries by August 31, 1999.
In 2003 a 5% hotel/motel surcharge was voted in by the Idabel citizens to help construct a new $3 million, 15,000 sq. foot library facility. The building plans have been completed and approved. A plot of land on the corner of Main and Avenue “C” has been donated by local beloved community member, Carl Sherman. The Idabel Library Friends Inc. is currently working on additional funding from local organizations and various grant opportunities. Construction should begin in the near future.
Currently our library has five full-time employees: Linda Potts, Head Librarian; Julie Woods, Assistant Librarian; Karen Logan, Librarian Assistant; Angela Bourke, Library Aide and Mary Sands, Children’s Assistant. We are currently open 6 days per week with a total of 54 hours per week. Our inventory has grown in the past 100 years from 40 volumes to over 50,000 volumes today.
Written by: Angela Bourke, 2006
Ed: Linda Potts
