The Eastern Oklahoma Library System is hosting free public programs this January, inviting community members to learn more about the Library of Congress, how it can show up in your life and local library, and to help shape a new exhibition being developed specifically for Northeastern Oklahoma.

Titled What Could the Library of Congress Do for YOU?, each two-hour event introduces community members to the many free services offered by the world’s largest library, while offering a first look at the immersive exhibit in development. The exhibition’s design is inspired by the place where the three rivers converge—an area that sustained Native American communities long before Muskogee’s formal establishment. Over time, these rivers witnessed profound change shaped by settlement and industry, as well as the meeting of different communities whose intertwined histories formed along their banks. This idea of convergence—of stories, memories, and perspectives—shapes how the exhibition will look, feel, and invite participation.

People who attend this program will have the opportunity to preview the exhibit, share personal memories of the region, and offer feedback directly to the exhibit’s design team—helping shape how the Library of Congress connects with communities like those in Northeastern Oklahoma in the future.

The program will be offered at three library locations, noting that the digital experience preview will only be available at Muskogee Public Library:

Wednesday, January 21, 1:00–3:00 p.m.
Tahlequah Public Library
120 S. College Ave., Tahlequah, OK 74464
Register Here

Thursday, January 22, 12:00–2:00 p.m.
Grove Public Library
1140 NEO Loop, Grove, OK 74344
Register Here

Thursday, January 22, 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Muskogee Public Library
801 W. Okmulgee Ave., Muskogee, OK 74401
Register Here

Attendance is free, but space is limited to approximately 40 participants. Registration is encouraged. 

“Public libraries are often the first places people turn to conduct local research, get inspired or connect with their neighbors,” Library of Congress Digital Innovation Division Chief Laurie Allen said. “While the Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, our vast and varied collections speak to people from all across the country and help tell their unique stories. We’re honored for the opportunity to work alongside these two amazing library systems to connect our expert staff and unparalleled materials with their community expertise and imagination.”

Over the next two years, the Library of Congress will work with the Eastern Oklahoma Library System and Cleveland Public Library to co-create two cutting-edge digital experiences where communities in Eastern Oklahoma and Cleveland can engage with digital library materials in ways that bring the collections to life in their own backyards.

This initiative will follow the efforts of the Library of Congress’ Innovators in Residence, who have produced creative and transformative digital work for the American people from free-to-use Library collections. Past innovators worked closely with Library staff to create new hip-hop music with the Library’s free-to-use audio and video materials, re-imagine how to navigate digitized newspapers with machine learning, and digitally reconstruct historic places with photos, maps and virtual reality technologies. Current Innovator in Residence Vivian Li is developing local adventures for audiences around the country to learn about their hometowns through items from the Library of Congress’ digital collections.

The Library of Congress is home to extensive digital collections from across the United States, and Eastern Oklahoma and Cleveland are no exceptions. For example, users can find local Eastern Oklahoma material in a variety of formats, time periods, and collections across the Library including the Farm Security Administration Collection, Veterans History Project, Sanborn Fire Insurance Map Collection, Carol Highsmith Photography Archive, Chronicling America newspaper archive, and more. Similarly for Cleveland, users can find digital material in collections such as Works Progress Administration Posters, Stereograph Cards, Detroit Publishing Company photography archive, the Historic American Engineering Record, and the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.

The project is made possible by generous philanthropic grants from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and other generous funders.

About the Eastern Oklahoma Library System

The Eastern Oklahoma Library System is a multi-county organization serving 15 libraries in six counties in Eastern Oklahoma: Muskogee, Adair, Cherokee, Delaware, McIntosh and Sequoyah. The library system has demonstrated its innovative approach to services and programs through the early adoption of maker spaces, the Library of Things borrowing program, a Memory Lab for digitizing older media and online reading, printing and database resources. They have also developed innovative programming such as Touch-A-Truck, where community members can see, touch and interact with dozens of vehicles from fire trucks to cement trucks.

About the Cleveland Public Library

At over 150 years old, Cleveland Public Library is one of Cleveland, Ohio’s oldest institutions and today serves nearly 300,000 registered borrowers across 30 branch libraries. Cleveland Public Library has pioneered a variety of innovative services and programs, including a state-of-the-art maker space, a teen technology center and a teen innovation center. CPL Play, the library’s celebration of gaming culture, promotes gaming events and competitions for a broad audience.

About the Library of Congress

The Library’s Digital Innovation Division, LC Labs, supports the Library’s mission to engage, inspire and inform Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring source of knowledge and creativity. LC Labs is home to the Library of Congress Innovator in Residence Program; leads experiments with AI and other new technologies; and supports communities in exploring the Library’s data and digital collections. Learn more about the Library’s approach to digital strategy and visit labs.loc.gov to see this work in action.

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.

Media Contacts: Brett Zongker, Library of Congress, bzongker@loc.gov
Belle Brown, Eastern Oklahoma Library System, bbrown@eols.org