Oswego Public Library; Oswego, Kansas
Posted by: 
boatchick
N 37° 10.015 W 095° 06.461
15S E 312865 N 4115469
Entering its second century, the Oswego, Kansas Carnegie Library continues to provide library service to the town.
Waymark Code: WM85XX
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 02/04/2010
Views: 10
The Oswego Women's Club first formed a library association in 1877. The association was supported by donations and fund-raisers, and it operated a reading room in the city building. A 1909 grant from Andrew Carnegie provided $5000 to build a separate, permanent library building. According to the National Register, the "Architect, builder, or engineer" was/were F.F. Parker and William Kee. Gardiner makes note of a Kansas City architect named E.F. Parker and a Parsons contractor named William Kee in
his article on the Parsons library; presumably, these are the same men. The brick and limestone structure was dedicated on 12 June 1912.
Over the years, the library has received several renovations. A bond issue passed in 1965 was supplemented by federal matching funds. This money was used to update the roof, plumbing, and electrical systems. - In 1979, the library was redecorated. The library was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 as building #87000956. A 1995 expansion project carefully matched the design of the original and added a new wing to the rear of the structure. Then, the interior was redecorated in 2006 with a grant from the Southeast Kansas Library System. In addition to all the physical changes over the years, the Oswego Public Library has kept up to date with technology, offering public access computers and free wireless internet access, and working on an inter-library loan program with other Southeast Kansas libraries.
References:
Jones, Theodore. Carnegie Libraries Across America
Gardiner, Allen. The Carnegie Legacy in Kansas, available
online
Wikipedia: Oswego Public Library
National Register of Historic Places