Mission Statement

The Clark County Public Library provides free and equal access to information through exceptional customer service to meet the intellectual and recreational needs of the community.

Values

The Clark County Public Library believes

  • Free and equal access to materials, information and technology is essential to the democratic process
  • A gathering place and a resource for life-long learning are critical to the community’s quality of life
  • Multi-cultural resources, information and programs strengthen and enrich the ethnic and cultural life of the community
  • Every person is entitled to committed, friendly, excellent service in an environment that is safe physically and intellectually

Vision

The Clark County Public Library is an essential community asset providing state-of-the-art resources that encourage diverse thinking, literacy and life-long learning.

 

Board of Trustees

Board Meetings are held (January-the 4th Monday, all other months-the 3rd Monday) at 4:00 p.m. in the Board Room of the Main Library located at 201 South Fountain Avenue, Springfield, Ohio.
All Board Meetings are open to the public.

Trustees are appointed for seven-year terms ending on July 29th of appointment term. Appointments are alternated between the Court of Common Pleas and the Clark County Commission. This arrangement may be found in Section 3375 of the Ohio Revised Code. Section 3375 of the Ohio Revised Code covers libraries and is our governing authority. Clark County Public Library is a County District Library as described in the Ohio Revised Code.

3 Trustees are appointed by the Court of Common Pleas
4 Trustees are appointed by the Clark County Commission

Those interested in placing their name in line for possible appointment to the position of Trustee Library Board Member should contact:

Clark County Commissioners, (937) 521-2005 or
Clark County Court of Common Pleas, Courthouse, (937) 521-1680

Appointments are usually made during June or July of each year.

Board of Trustees:

  • Shelia Rice, President
  • Maureen Sheehan-Massaro, Vice-President
  • Dan O’Keefe, Secretary
  • Lisa Henry
  • Shane Latham
  • Rev. Cheryl Powers
  • Walt Szczesny

 

 

Library History

Early Beginnings – 1840’s

The Clark County Public Library had its first real beginnings around the year 1841 with what was then known as the Springfield Lyceum.  Various short-lived Library Associations followed and the library found a more permanent home on the second floor of Black’s Opera House.  The library housed 3,300 volumes when it opened to the public at this location in 1872.  As patronage and the collection expanded, the need for yet another move set in and the library relocated in 1877 to the second floor of the Union Hall Building, which was situated on what is today Fountain Avenue.

A Gift to the Community – 1890

Local entrepreneur Benjamin Warder gave the library a new location on the south-west corner of East High and South Spring Streets in 1890 with a building constructed in memory of his parents, and dedicated to the people of Springfield.  This location now houses the Warder Literacy Center. Library service continued to expand and grow at this new location.  The year 1936 saw the first Bookmobile service to the area, with a homemade trailer that could carry 500 books.  The 1950’s and 1960’s brought about the expansion of the library in the form of branches at Park Shopping Center, Southern Village Shopping Center, and in the villages of Enon and South Charleston.

The Library System Grows – 1989 and Beyond

The Main Library moved to its new state-of-the-art facility on Fountain Avenue in 1989. Since moving to this new location, the breadth of our services and programs has increased to better serve the needs of the community.  In 2016-2017, a renovation and expansion of the main entrances took place to provide more space for community meetings, programming, reading and study.

All of our 5 locations have recently been updated with renovations or new buildings. Each facility now has community meeting spaces, WiFi access, public computers, dedicated children’s and teen areas, expanded reading and study areas, and expanded collections available for checkout that include books/audiobooks, music, movies, video games, eBooks, digital magazines, framed art (Main Library) and more!

Our bookmobile sprinter van (2017) covers numerous community stops (schools, daycare centers, nursing homes, etc…).

The broad spectrum of locations allows our materials and services to be more accessible to all Clark County residents.  For all of your resource needs the Clark County Public Library is “The Information Place.”

Lenski Children’s Center

Why is our children’s area called the Lenski Children’s Center?

Lois Lenski was born October 14, 1893 in Springfield, Ohio. Her father was a Lutheran minister. The family moved from Springfield to Anna, Ohio in 1899.

Lois graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in education from the Ohio State University. While a student at Ohio State, she was chosen as art editor of the yearbook.  After graduating from college, she attended the Art Students League in New York City and the Westminster School of Art in London, England.

Encouraged by others to write her own stories to accompany her drawings, Skipping Village, her first book, was published in 1927.  In 1946, she was awarded the Newbery Medal for Strawberry Girl, one of the regional American series.  Lois Lenski not only wrote and illustrated almost 100 books of her own, but also illustrated 57 children’s books by others.

The Children’s Room of the Warder Public Library was named the Lenski Room in honor of her sixtieth birthday in October 1953.  She attended the ceremony and donated many of her works to the library.  In the new Clark County Public Library, the Lenski Children’s Center displays these items, including works that have been translated into other languages.  We also have books in our circulating collection written and illustrated by Lois Lenski.  If you are interested in reading further about Lois Lenski, her autobiography, Journey Into Childhood, is an excellent resource and demonstrates her talent as a writer as well as her love of writing and drawing for children.

Learn about the Lois Lenski Award.
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