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Post a picture of yourself in front of the library.
Over the past 20 years, local philanthropists Donna and Roger Hardesty have
donated their time, money and land to the Tulsa City-County Library, helping the
library system provide better library service for all customers.
For their generosity and longtime dedication to libraries, the Tulsa
City-County Library will induct Donna and Roger Hardesty into the Library Hall
of Fame on Dec. 4 at the 2004 Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author program.
The Hall of Fame was established in 1982 to recognize and honor individuals
who have provided leadership and made exemplary contributions of time, talent
and energy toward the development of the Tulsa City-County Library.
The Hardestys began their support of the Tulsa City-County Library in the
early 1980s by making the first major contribution to the Tulsa Library Trust.
Their $600,000 donation was the catalyst for the development of the endowment,
which today helps fund many of the library’s programs and services. In
gratitude, the South Regional Library, formerly located behind Woodland Hills
Mall, was renamed in honor of Donna and Roger Hardesty in 1984.
Since its inception, the Hardesty Regional Library has served as the flagship
of Tulsa City-County Library’s branches with its high volume of use, in-depth
resources and use by families of surrounding communities. By the end of the
1990s, the Hardesty Regional Library was bursting at the seams as usage steadily
increased. The library was high on the list of needs for the 1998 library bond
issue for a major expansion, but with limited land space doubling the size of
the building presented a challenge.
That’s when Roger Hardesty stepped up to the plate – donating 8 acres of
prime real estate at 93rd and Memorial. The gift of the land, valued at more
than $2.2 million, provided a much-needed site for the Tulsa City-County Library
to build a new 48,669-square-foot library with space for future expansion and
adequate parking, plus space to double the collection from 90,000 to 180,000.
Currently, the $2.2 million donation is the largest single donation in TCCL’s
history. The new Hardesty
Regional Library opened to rave reviews on May 18, 2003.
“The Hardestys’ recent gift of land enabled the library to build a
21st-century library that the public loves to visit and use. The hilly location
makes the library prominent and easy to find from the Creek Expressway and
surrounding neighborhoods,” said Linda Saferite, chief executive officer for
the Tulsa City-County Library. “The Hardestys take great pride in how library
usage has soared in the new building.”