The Library in the Community
Time: Noon to 1:15 pm
Venue: WOW Hall
291 West 8th
Eugene, Oregon
97401
- Join the Livestream
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We will meet at the WOW Hall, 291 W 8th. Learn more: https://wowhall.org/about-us/. Walk, ride a bike or take the bus. You may park on the street or in the parking lot of FOOD for Lane County's Dining Room, across 8th from the WOW Hall. A freewill donation acknowledging the Dining Room's generosity may be made at the meeting.
Lunch will be available for $15.
Topic:
The history of the Eugene Public Library (EPL) dates back over 125 years, to 1898, when a group of women from the Fortnightly Club established a circulating library in a private room staffed by one volunteer for one afternoon a week.
Just five years later, the Oregon Legislature enacted the Oregon Library Law, leading local governments statewide to seek funding for public facilities. In 1906, Oregon’s first Carnegie Library was established at the corner of Willamette Street and East 11th Avenue.
Today, the library has three branches. The downtown branch opened on December 26, 2002 in its present location at 10th and Olive, and satellite branches operate in Sheldon and Bethel neighborhoods. With nearly 840,000 patrons using its facilities in 2024, Eugene Public Library is one of our most well-used and well-loved community institutions.
In this forum, Library Director Angela Ocaña will describe the latest programs EPL offers the community, and Dana Fleming from the Eugene Public Library Foundation will discuss the state of the library and what its future will bring.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Speakers
Title: Executive Director
Organization: Eugene Public Library Foundation
Website: https://www.eplfoundation.org/
Biography:
Biography is provided by the speaker and edited for length/proofreading
Dana B. Fleming grew up in Alabama, where she was raised in a home full of books and taken regularly to the libraries in the communities where she lived.
After graduating from Birmingham-Southern College with a degree in Art History, Dana worked in a range of nonprofits focused on art, domestic violence and education in Alabama, Nevada and Arkansas.
In her time in Eugene, Dana has served as Executive Director of the Eugene Education Foundation, as a Board Member of the Lane County Cultural Coalition, and on Stand for Children’s Strategy Team.
Title: Director
Organization: Eugene Public Library
Website: https://www.eugene-or.gov/4422/Eugene-Public-Library
Biography:
Biography is provided by the speaker and edited for length/proofreading
Angela Ocaña is the Director of the Eugene Public Library. In nearly 30 years as a professional, she has worked in every facet of librarianship. Since 2017, she served in several positions at EPL, from Youth Services supervisor to Community Services manager and now as Director.
As the Youth Services manager, Ocaña helped build the Downtown Library’s Teen Center and was a leader in adapting library services through COVID restrictions. She served in the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) during the pandemic and helped shepherd the creative visions of staff for the library’s youth, adult and branch services.
Ocaña formerly served as the chair of the Intellectual Freedom Round Table, a forum of the American Library Association for the discussion of activities, programs and problems. She was selected as one of the ALA’s emerging leaders 2018 and has won awards for her work with teens.
