Oak Ridge Public Library Archives

McDaniel completes Oak Ridge oral history project

Posted at 2:07 pm July 15, 2019
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

Keith McDaniel interviews Oak Ridge Historian Ray Smith at the Oak Ridge History Museum for the Center for Oak Ridge Oral History. (Submitted photo)

Filmmaker Keith McDaniel has completed a nine-year project to document the oral histories of about 400 current and former Oak Ridge residents, including those connected to the Manhattan Project during World War II.

The life stories were used to build a digital collection for the Oak Ridge Public Library’s Center for Oak Ridge Oral History, or COROH. McDaniel was part of the group that made plans for the COROH and, following the city’s receipt of an annual grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, took the contract for the documentary work.

“A lot of original Oak Ridgers were dying and getting older,” McDaniel said in a press release from Carson-Newman University. “We felt it was really important to collect their memories, to collect their stories.”

The one-on-one filmed interviews gave those connected to the Manhattan Project, and later to the city at large, the opportunity to share their life stories, the press release said.

[Read more…]

Kiwanis Club to hear about Oak Ridge Library on Tuesday

Posted at 2:23 pm April 5, 2019
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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…]

Memoir Writing Workshop at Oak Ridge Public Library on Wednesday

Posted at 11:12 am March 19, 2019
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As part of the “World Wise Wednesdays” series of programs, the Oak Ridge Public Library will host a Memoir Writing Class on Wednesday, March 20, beginning at 10:30 a.m. in the library auditorium.

Bonny Millard will lead the session. Millard is a writing coach, project development editor, and educator who worked for more than 15 years as a print journalist and freelance writer, a press release said.

Her journalism career and fiction writing has led her to help other writers explore the depths of their stories, the press release said. Millard also teaches composition at Pellissippi State Community College, and she has a master’s degree in creative writing. [Read more…]

Friends of Oak Ridge Library has book sale Feb. 14-17

Posted at 11:35 pm February 5, 2019
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The Oak Ridge Public Library is pictured above.

Friends of the Oak Ridge Library will have its Winter 2018 Book Sale from February 14-17 in the Oak Ridge Public Library Auditorium.

The sale includes print and other media, most for sale for 50 cents or $1.00.

The sale will be open Thursday, February 14, from 5-7:30 p.m. for members only ($5.00 individual and $10.00 family may be bought at the door); Friday, February 15, 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Facebook promotion; Saturday, February 16, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.; 1/2 price sale; Sunday, February 17, 2:30-5:30 p.m., $3.00/bag; and Silent Auction, Thursday-Saturday. [Read more…]

Friends of Oak Ridge Library Book Sale is Thursday-Sunday

Posted at 2:25 pm October 25, 2018
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Friends of the Oak Ridge Library will hold its Fall 2018 Book Sale from Thursday to Sunday in the Oak Ridge Public Library Auditorium.

“Plan to come to the Thursday evening Members Sale, then come Friday to purchase the titles you thought about buying but didn’t on Thursday,” a press release said. “Come Saturday to find half-price bargains and to place your winning bid on the Silent Auction items you want to take home. Return on Sunday to fill a bag with titles for your friends and family and the many Free Libraries scattered about town. Every day you will find a wide selection of fiction and nonfiction books and nonprint media with most titles 50 cents or $1 each.”

The Book Sale will be open to members only on Thursday evening, October 25, from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Memberships ($5 for individuals, $10 for families) can be bought that evening. [Read more…]

Library closures announced for rooftop HVAC work

Posted at 1:25 pm October 10, 2018
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The Oak Ridge Public Library expects to be closed on five separate occasions between October 15 and November 23 to allow for planned work to the rooftop air conditioning and heating system as well as staff work days, a press release said.

“During this six-week time period, patrons should expect increased noise and a high level of construction activity in and around the library,” the press release said.

The planned library closure dates are as follows: [Read more…]

Julie Forkner named director of Oak Ridge Public Library

Posted at 3:53 pm October 3, 2018
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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

Posted at 9:39 am August 30, 2018
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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…]

Oak Ridge Public Library hosts writing workshop

Posted at 1:24 am July 8, 2018
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The Oak Ridge Public Library will host a writing workshop on Saturday, July 14, from 12 p.m. until 2 p.m. Author Michael C. Miles is the special guest for the workshop, which will focus on how to become a published author, a press release said.

Miles is from Bristol, Tennessee, and he now lives in Knoxville. His first novel, “Dominion,” was published two years ago. His second book, “The Dying Lesson,” was recently published and is being adapted for a short film. The film is expected to be shot in the Tri-Cities/Knoxville area. [Read more…]

McNeilly retiring after 19 years as library director

Posted at 12:55 pm June 20, 2018
By John Huotari Leave a Comment

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…]

Friends of Oak Ridge Library has Book Sale this week

Posted at 7:59 am May 9, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Friends of the Oak Ridge Library will have its Spring 2018 Book Sale this week.

The Book Sale is scheduled from Thursday, May 10, to Sunday, May 13, in the Oak Ridge Public Library Auditorium.

The sale will include fiction and nonfiction books, magazines, audiovisual materials, and other publications covering almost every subject, a press release said. Most titles are 50 cents or $1 each. Titles withdrawn from the Library are half price Thursday through Saturday.

There will be a preview sale for members from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday evening, May 10. Memberships will be available at the door; they are $5 per individual and $10 for a family. (Scanning devices cannot be used during the preview sale on Thursday.) The Silent Auction begins on Thursday evening and ends at 5 p.m. on Saturday. Friends of the Oak Ridge Library, or FOL, can now accept all major credit cards during its sales.

The sale opens to the general public on Friday, May 11, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. [Read more…]

Richard Cook to speak at Friends of Library annual meeting on Sunday

Posted at 2:07 pm March 2, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

Richard Cook (Submitted photo)

The annual meeting of the Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library (FOL) will be held Sunday, and the guest speaker will be Richard Cook, author of “Ignored Heroes of World War II: The Manhattan Project Workers of Oak Ridge, Tennessee.”

The meeting is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 4, in the Oak Ridge Public Library auditorium. There is no charge. Everyone is invited to attend, a press release said. New board members will be elected during the meeting.

Cook, who has lived in Oak Ridge since 2000, said his work is an oral history of Oak Ridge, the press release said. His wife, Katy (Orrick), was born and raised in Oak Ridge.

Cook wrote an op/ed column for The Oak Ridger from 2003-2005, the press release said. He has written more than 130 op/ed columns, which have appeared in The Oak Ridger, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, and The Tennessean website, the release said. His book has been profiled locally on WBIR, WATE, and PBS. [Read more…]