The Oil Region Library Association (ORLA), whose locations include the Oil City Library, 2 Central Ave. Oil City, PA 16301, the Franklin Public Library, 421 12th St, Franklin, PA 16323, and the Cooperstown Public Library, 182 N Main St. Cooperstown, PA 16317, continued its efforts to provide opportunity and knowledge with the community.
As the organization in charge of managing the Venango County public libraries, ORLA seeks to engage the community, enhance literacy, promote lifelong learning and preserve the local culture through resources and programming. Their vision is to nurture a diverse, educated and inclusive community in all of Venango County.
They provide connections — to information and resources, to each other and to our local community. Users across the county can gain access to all three locations with the use of just one library card. Items can be dropped off or picked up at any of their locations they choose. Items include books, movies, eBooks, indoor/outdoor games, WiFi hot spots, tools, garden supplies (from seeds to rototiller), STEM kits, digitized/searchable historic newspapers and much more. Free public programs for all ages include Bouncing Babies, Storytime, teen after-school/hours events, Adult Craft Club and book clubs. Oil City Library also serves as District Center for the three-county Oil Creek Library District.
ORLA currently employees 18 individuals across their three locations. There are a total of seven full-time positions and eleven part-time positions. Last year marked the addition of three of those employees, Dakota Schatz and Lili Danes as Library Assistants, and Jazzmine Harris as a Youth Services Coordinator. All three have been fantastic additions to the team.
2024, early 2025 highlights
• ORLA libraries partnered with Clarion County libraries so all users can now use their card directly at those libraries or have items from those locations shipped to be picked up at any ORLA location for no additional cost.
• Seed exchanges went so well that all three locations now have them, with seeds currently available to prepare for the upcoming growing season. ORLA has sealable envelopes and labels available for anyone who is interested in contributing to their collections.
• Franklin installed a new outdoor sign plus the replacement of all the corbels, allowing them to re-open the courtyard to patron traffic.
• Cooperstown relocated and remodeled the Teen space, plus is now open on Wednesdays. They’ve started to offer regular community events and programs.
• Franklin and Oil City have added some new technology to spaces. 3-D Printers are available for public use at each location. Oil City also created a Makerspace that includes two additional gaming PCs, a sewing machine, a ring light and green screen. Additionally, all three locations have Nintendo Switches to play. Oil City is currently a Steam Café, with the other locations hopeful to come on board in the future. Steam users can access their own catalog of purchased titles and play their own collection while connected to the ORLA network through their own devices or ORLA’s gaming PCs
2025 forecast
• Library Hall, the 2nd floor auditorium/theater space at the Oil City Library will be renovated in the spring, with expected completion sometime in June. Look out for upcoming public events to showcase the space, provide the community with entertainment and eventually private booking opportunities for anyone interested.
• ORLA is exploring pathways to address an exterior wall issue at Cooperstown. Their intentions are to leverage the situation as an opportunity to expand with a building addition for more useable public space.
• ORLA is seeking a ballot referendum in the upcoming General Election in hopes of securing permanent, sustainable countywide funding, along with the official designation of Venango’s “county library”. This would allow them to provide more equitable service for all county residents, regardless of their municipality (currently approximately 1/3 have to pay extra), qualify them for additional State funding, and better meet the needs of library users, visitors and area residents.
Telephone numbers for the libraries are: Oil City Library — 814-678-3072; Franklin Public Library — 814-432-5062; and Cooperstown Public Library — 814-374-4605. The ORLA website is www.oilregionlibraries.org.
