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Omaha Public Library System

Visit the Omaha Public Library’s brand new website!

The Omaha Public Library is a system of 12 branches libraries, including the W. Dale Clark Library, which is the Main Library in the Omaha system. All residents of Douglas County are eligible for a library card and borrowing privileges.

Omaha Public Library in 1857Omaha Public Library in 1857The first Omaha library was founded in 1857 but folded just three years later. In 1872, a library was opened downtown, 14th Street and Dodge, and in 1877 the Omaha City Council appointed a library board. The W. Dale Clark Library opened in 1977 at 17th Street and Farnum, serving as the Omaha central library ever since.

In 2010, the library welcomed new Executive Director, Gary Wasdin, who oversaw the first major redesign of the library’s website in over a decade.

We interviewed Gary after a few weeks on the job, and he was excited about the many innovative ways the library plans to connect with the residents of Omaha in the future. Whether it’s holding a “Storytime on the Bus” with Omaha school children on their “commute,” or trading on the norm with an Adult Summer Reading program, Gary wants the library to really be a resource for the city.

In our interview, Gary highlighted new services the library will be offering, from the ho-hum but helpful (longer hours), to the suhhh-weet and totally unexpected (lending eBook readers and laptops, downloadable movies and Audiobooks). Even existing services, like access to fully-featured versions of Consumer Reports and Ancestry.com (even from the library patron’s home) are under-utilized.

C’mon Omaha, it’s your tax dollars at work, use the library!

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Library Locations

Branch Address/Phone
W. Dale Clark (Main) Library
215 S. 15th St., Omaha, NE
402.444.4800
Milton R. Abrahams Branch
5111 N. 90th St., Omaha, NE
402.444.6284
Benson Branch 6015 Binney St., Omaha, NE
402.444.4846
Bess Johnson Elkhorn Branch
2100 Reading Plz., Elkhorn, NE
402.289.4367
Florence Branch 2920 Bondesson St., Omaha, NE
402.444.5299
Millard Branch 13214 Westwood Ln., Omaha, NE
402.444.4848
Saddlebrook Branch
14850 Laurel Ave., Omaha, NE
402.884.7473
A.V. Sorensen Branch
4808 Cass St., Omaha, NE
402.444.5274
South Omaha Library 2808 Q St., Omaha, NE
402.444.4850
W. Clarke Swanson Branch
9101 W. Dodge Rd., Omaha, NE
402.444.4852
Charles B. Washington Branch
2868 Ames Ave., Omaha, NE
402.444.4849
Willa Cather Branch 1905 S. 44th St., Omaha, NE
402.444.4851

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