Oak Ridge Today

Oak Ridgers celebrate library renovations

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Oak Ridge Public Library Director Julie Forkner, right, talks to a standing-room-only crowd about renovations to the library’s East Wing on Tuesday, June 20, 2023. (Photo by John Huotari/Oak Ridge Today)

A standing-room-only crowd attended the grand re-opening celebration of renovations to the East Wing of the Oak Ridge Public Library on Tuesday.

The renovations include a brand-new Children’s Room and bathrooms that meet Americans with Disability Act standards.

The projects were made possible through a combination of funding from the City of Oak Ridge, a Support Grant to Local Governments, and the Friends of Oak Ridge Public Library administering a bequest (a personal property gift) on behalf of Jerry Kinnamon.

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Oak Ridge Public Library East Wing grand reopening set for June 20

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Renovations of the East Wing of the Oak Ridge Public Library include a brand-new Children’s Room and bathrooms that meet Americans with Disability Act standards.

The library will celebrate with a June 20 grand reopening.

The projects were made possible through a combination of funding from the City of Oak Ridge, a Support Grant to Local Governments, and the Friends of Oak Ridge Public Library administering a bequest (a personal property gift) on behalf of Jerry Kinnamon.

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Library will be renovated during holidays

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Oak Ridge Public Library
The Oak Ridge Public Library is pictured above.

The Oak Ridge Public Library will be renovated during the holidays, and the library will be closed several days around Christmas and New Year’s Day.

The restrooms will be completely rebuilt, and the Children’s Room will be “getting an all-new look that will help everyone discover new ways to read, learn, and play,” a press release said.

The library will be closed for the Christmas holidays from December 23 to 26 and for the New Year’s holiday from December 31 to January 2, the press release said.

“Over the few days immediately before Christmas and in between Christmas and New Year’s, the library building will be closed to public traffic,” Oak Ridge Public Library Director Julie Forkner said. “However, patrons will be able to check out materials through our curbside service. Mobile printing will be available, and library staff will be available via phone and email. Patrons needing a wireless connection can place a Hotspot on hold with their library card or use the library’s public Wi-Fi, which extends to the plaza and into the library’s parking lot.”

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Oak Ridge Library to re-open in phases starting March 29

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Oak Ridge Public Library
The Oak Ridge Public Library is pictured above.

After a year of the coronavirus pandemic and renovations to the building, Oak Ridge Public Library will re-open on March 29. The library will re-open in two phases, the city said in a press release.

The first phase, from March 29 through May 29, will allow patrons to browse the main library and Children’s Room, use public computers, and enjoy the newly renovated library space, the press release said. Library hours will be limited to Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Curbside pickup will continue during this first phase. Curbside hours, however, will change to Monday through Saturday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., the press release said.

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Kiwanis Club to hear about Oak Ridge Library on Tuesday

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Julie Forkner

Julie Forkner

The Kiwanis Club will hear about the Oak Ridge Public Library on Tuesday, April 9.

At noon meeting will include a program by Julie Forkner, who is director of the Oak Ridge Public Library. She will describe library facilities and services. Included are the Oak Ridge Room, Center for Oak Ridge Oral History (COROH), the Library’s Organizations Index of Non Profit Groups, and the help that can be given to the Library through the Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library (FOL).

Kiwanis Club of Oak Ridge meets at the Golden Oak Buffet in Oak Ridge. There is an optional luncheon at 11:40 a.m., and the program will start at 12:10 p.m. Tuesday. The meeting will be held in the small meeting room at the Golden Oak Buffet on the right side of the entrance door. The restaurant is located on 401 South Tulane Avenue in Oak Ridge, near the stores in the Main Street Oak Ridge shopping center. [Read more…]

Julie Forkner named director of Oak Ridge Public Library

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Julie Forkner

Julie Forkner

 

The City of Oak Ridge has named Julie Forkner as director of the Oak Ridge Public Library. Forkner was hired in 2016 as manager of library operations. She has served as acting library director for the last six months.

“Please join us in congratulating Julie on her new position,” a press release said.

Forkner is a graduate of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, receiving her master’s degree in library and information science in 2012. Prior to this, she obtained a master’s degree in English rhetoric and composition from UT-Chattanooga and a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from Warren Wilson College in North Carolina. [Read more…]

Center for Oak Ridge Oral History seeks new interviews

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Oak Ridge Public Library

The Oak Ridge Public Library is pictured above.

The Oak Ridge Public Library is seeking new interviews as part of the Center for Oak Ridge Oral History project. More than 800 oral history entries have already been logged, but additional stories are needed from those who experienced Oak Ridge as children.

COROH’s main focus has been the Manhattan Project era of Oak Ridge’s history, from late 1942 to the end of World War II in August 1945. Interviewees are asked about what it was like to live in the “Secret City.” As the project continues, staff and volunteers will be looking to the second generation of Oak Ridgers in order to record their memories as well. [Read more…]

McNeilly retiring after 19 years as library director

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Oak Ridge City Council members Jim Dodson, left, and Kelly Callison, second from left, read a proclamation for Kathy McNeilly, right, during her retirement celebration at Oak Ridge Public Library on Friday, June 15, 2018. Also pictured is Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

Oak Ridge City Council members Jim Dodson, left, and Kelly Callison, second from left, read a proclamation for Kathy McNeilly, right, during her retirement celebration at Oak Ridge Public Library on Friday, June 15, 2018. Also pictured is Oak Ridge City Manager Mark Watson. (Photo by City of Oak Ridge)

 

Kathy McNeilly is retiring after serving as director of the Oak Ridge Public Library for 19 years—and working for the City of Oak Ridge for more than 47 years.

Friends, family, and City of Oak Ridge staff celebrated McNeilly’s “amazing career” in a ceremony in the library auditorium on Friday, June 15, a city press release said.

McNeilly received a master’s degree in library science from the University of Tennessee. She was hired by the City of Oak Ridge in 1971 as a reference assistant, just a few months after the library’s new location opened its doors in the Oak Ridge Civic Center, the press release said. Since then, she has served as head of the Reference Department, head of Technical Services, and as assistant library director before taking on her role as director nearly 20 years ago.

“In her time with the library, McNeilly has watched services change from print-based to computer, and she was instrumental in guiding the library through many technological changes,” the press release said. “Most recently, she helmed the library’s inclusion of e-books and streaming video. McNeilly is perhaps most proud, however, of the library’s work with COROH (Center for Oak Ridge Oral History). Under her guidance, the library has been able to collect, bind, and make available online the oral histories of more than 800 Oak Ridgers whose lives and work helped create the Oak Ridge of today.” [Read more…]