[Libs-Or] ALA's short documentary on the O'Brien Memorial Library in Blue River

[CORNELISEN Wendy * SLO]

Stephanie,

Thank you so much for your leadership on this! Being able to bring this level of attention to our state is incredibly valuable.

This is a wonderful story of the impact of a library in a rural community and the power of a small group of people working to accomplish a goal. I also appreciated learning more about this recent history in Oregon.

Thank you,

Wendy

From: Libs-Or <libs-or-bounces at omls.oregon.gov> On Behalf Of Libraries of Eastern Oregon via Libs-Or
Sent: Monday, February 10, 2025 8:00 AM
To: libs-or at omls.oregon.gov
Subject: [Libs-Or] ALA's short documentary on the O'Brien Memorial Library in Blue River

Hello colleagues,

some of you may remember I had the pleasure of escorting then ALA President Emily Drabinski through Oregon late last spring, visiting the Eugene Public Library and several small and/or rural libraries, including the OSU Cascades campus library, the Grant County Library in John Day and the Cyber Mill in Prairie City, and the volunteer-run O'Brien Memorial Library in Blue River, which was destroyed in the Holiday Farm Fire in 2020. At the stop at the O'Brien Memorial Library, we were also joined by volunteers and Board members for filming as part of a documentary film on libraries, "This Place is Our Place," that Emily was coordinating through grant funds she had been awarded.

I am so excited to share the finished short film highlighting the wonderful story of how the O'Brien Memorial Library came to be - that story itself is wonderful, as Mrs. O'Brien first started running the library on the front porch of her house! - and how the library is a visible lighthouse, as Board Chair Connie Richardson calls it, of regrowth and return in the Blue River community. I hope you will take the opportunity to watch and share!

https://www.ala.org/obrien-memorial-library-red-fire-blue-river

You can see photos of the grand opening of the new library at their website, https://www.obrienlibrary.org/, donate to the library at https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/AF9BYHGLLJSPN, and donate to the ALA Disaster Relief Fund to help  libraries who have been impacted by natural disasters at https://ec.ala.org/donation/IRO-0866-GENALDhttps://ec.ala.org/donation/IRO-0866-GENALD<https://ec.ala.org/donation/IRO-0866-GENALD>.

Stephanie Chase
Executive Director, Libraries of Eastern Oregon
PO Box 233, Baker City, OR 97814
541/362.4258
she/her/hers
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://omls.oregon.gov/pipermail/libs-or/attachments/20250213/49b8d960/attachment.html>