OKLAHOMA CITY — After being in rented space in a shopping center and then in the fellowship hall of a nearby church, the Almonte Library branch opened Wednesday in a new, permanent building.
Kids and adults filled the new Almonte Library branch near SW 59th and May Wednesday for its first day open and the ribbon cutting.
Mayor David Holt and other members of Oklahoma City government as well as Library officials and staff gathered to cut the ribbon and open the branch Wednesday morning.
Cake, snacks, light lunch food, and drinks all greeted the first-day visitors to the branch as they flooded in to check out the new facilities.
“I like the playground. I think that’s probably the kid’s most favorite part,” said Morgan Rohnke who homeschools four small children and uses the MLS often. The playground is at the front of the building and is under a large overhang of the roof. The rest of the MLS services she uses regularly and was already oriented. The family lives nearby at SW 59th and Blackwelder.
Her four small children seemed excited about the new library, too.
Source of pride
The new building is a source of pride for city officials, too, since it has been paid for out of a bond initiative that voters approved in 2017.
Ward 6 City Councilwoman JoBeth Hamon was there to participate in the celebration. The new branch is just inside the southern edge of Ward 6 which is one of the core city wards.
Her name will be on the plaque on the building along with the mayor’s and other dignitaries.
“This is my favorite thing that my name is on,” said Hamon while smiling. “I had nothing to do with it, but it’s my favorite.”
The journey to opening day
Getting to that moment was an evolutionary one in that the Metropolitan Library System (MLS) found itself in high demand in the area while they were adjusting to a renovation at another branch.
According to the MLS website, in 2011 a space was rented in the Almonte Shopping Center on the SW corner of the intersection of SW 59th Street and May Avenue to move the Southern Oaks Library there as their building on South Walker was being renovated.
But, once they were open in that location their numbers began to show that it wasn’t just Southern Oaks patrons who were following the resources over a few miles.
In addition, they saw that the MLS was picking up significant numbers of new patrons from the nearby neighborhoods.
And, when the Southern Oaks branch opened again, the MLS kept the Almonte Branch open picking up even more local patrons over time.
The MLS saw a need to build a new, permanent branch in the area.
But, with a slowdown of the Pandemic and changes in construction costs, the system took even longer to finally acquire the land and build the new building just about half a block east of the intersection.
It took long enough that the MLS lost their lease on the Almonte Shopping Center space and had to relocate to the Trinity Lutheran Church nearby, according to Michele Ramsdell, one of the management staff at the branch who talked with Free Press after the ribbon-cutting. They were in the church from August 21, 2023 until May 3.
Staff were still able to set up computers and shelve DVDs plus provide a place for patrons to pick up holds that were brought in from the MLS storage elsewhere in the City.
The Grand Opening was truly an arrival that everyone in the MLS system and patrons were celebrating.
Growing system
Mark Schuster, one of three regional directors within the MLS talked with Free Press about the extraordinary growth of the library system.
“No other library system is doing this, you know, opening branches,” said Schuster. “I did the math earlier. I’ve worked here eight and a half years and this is my fifth grand opening for a new or remodeled building. It just does not happen.”
But, in Oklahoma County it does.
Schuster said there are 19 different branches and the metro continues to grow.
Public service
Ramsdell said the branch has over 40,000 volumes and 16 staff with 34 computers available to the public.
Here is the detailed breakdown of services and equipment available in the Almonte Library according to the MLS:
TECHNOLOGY
- Public use computers with 60-minute internet access and printing capabilities
- Mobile and offsite printing
- Free Wi-Fi
- Color copy machine with free outbound faxing (to U.S. numbers only) and scanning capability
- Wi-Fi hotspots (available to check out; holds can be placed in our catalog)
- Check out a laptop (in-library use only)
MLS STUDIOS (MAKERSPACE)
- Hours: Mon-Thurs 1-7 PM. To make an appointment, reserve online, call us at 405.231.8650, click the Need Help? button on this page, or email us.
- Equipment:
- Mac and Windows computers
- 3D printers
- iPads
- Cricut Maker
- Button maker
- Sewing and embroidering machines
COLLECTION
- Self-serve holds shelf and a self-check machine
- Catalog computers dedicated to searching the library’s collection
- Library staff who can provide assistance locating information, using print and electronic sources, and providing readers’ advisory
- Place and pick up interlibrary loan requests
- Tours and instruction in the use of library resources (by appointment)
- Experience Passes for the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, the Oklahoma History Center, the Oklahoma Banjo Museum, and the Museum of Osteology are first-come, first-served
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.