Celebrating the Library's Centennial
The Stillwater Public Library is celebrating its 100-year anniversary in 2023! The library staff and board members invite you to be a part of the celebration to commemorate the last 100 years and to help sustain the library for 100 more.
When the first library opened in 1923, the City of Stillwater hired Mrs. Harriet Woodring to check out books to the community. Today, we still check out books to community members—although it's now 350,000 books each year rather than a couple hundred. Over the last century, our role has grown beyond checking out books to include everything from computer tutoring and troubleshooting to early childhood literacy and serving as the community's hub for information, opportunities and empowerment.
Learn more by watching our video!
UPCOMING EVENTS
100 Days Project - Ongoing All Year
Learn more Register Download a Tracker
100 Days of Reading for 100 Years! The 100 Day Project Challenge is a commitment to doing something every day for 100 days. You choose the area of your life that you'd like to work on, decide how much time you have to give, and make your own rules. For anyone who would like to focus on reading, the library will offer you a reward for completing your 100 days (they don't have to be consecutive and all ages can participate). We would recommend committing to at least 15 minutes a day. This is a community wide project with a built in support system for anyone who wants to participate. There are five areas of focus: Arts, Community, Reading, Volunteering, and Health & Fitness.
Time Travel with the Stillwater Public Library (Thursday, February 23, 6:00 p.m. @ The History Museum at the Sheerar)
Join us for the unveiling of the library's 100-year pop-up history exhibit, get reading recommendations from Stillwater's first librarians (thanks to a librarian "fortune teller"), guess what old library "tools of the trade" were used for, make paper dolls of some notable librarians from our past, and, since the library opened in 1923 - take some fun photo ops with 1920s props. Attendees are also invited to tour the exhibits at the Sheerar and enjoy complimentary coffee and desserts. Read the press release.
Library Lock-in ( Friday, March 17, after hours from 7-11 p.m.) REGISTRATION IS FULL
Families and friends are invited to attend a library lock-in! There will be board games, video games, movies...and reading of course! We even have permission to make s'mores outside (weather permitting). Click here to register.
Attendees will be admitted into the building at 7 p.m. and the doors relocked by 7:30 p.m. Children under 13 will need to have a parent or guardian with them. Teens 13 and older who will be attending alone will need a signed permission slip from a parent or guardian.
Friendly video game competitions will be run by the Gamers of OSU, Stillwater High School ESports team and GameStop. Video games will be from the Mario franchise.
Board game favorites such as Monopoly, Sorry, Clue and more will be set up in the main Library. Chess, checkers and card games will also be available.
The movies played will be Jumanji starring Robin Williams and Clue starring Tim Curry. Both movies are rated PG and are approximately one and a half hours long. Ratings of the movies can be found at Common Sense Media and Rotten Tomatoes.
Pizza is sponsored by Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, and Little Caesars. Soda, popcorn, and s’mores are provided by the Friends of the Library.
More events to come!
We have a lot of exciting centennial events planned for 2023, including a read-a-thon, a haunted library and some fun partnerships with our local breweries. Check this page often and follow the library on Facebook for updates.
Want to learn more about the history of the Stillwater Public Library? Visit our history page for photos and more details.
Please consider joining us in ensuring that the library will be available to our community for the next 100 years by donating to the Library Trust. Use the Paypal link below, contact the library's business office at (405) 372-3633 x8100 or stacy.delano@stillwater.org, or send a check payable to the Stillwater Public Library Trust to Stillwater Public Library, 1107 S. Duck St., Stillwater OK, 74074.
Want to learn more about the Library Trust? Click here.