On Saturday February 25, the City of Lowell will celebrate the opening of the new Maggie Osgood Library located at 70 N. Pioneer Street, Lowell, OR 97452. The celebration starts at 11:00 am. Community members and news media representatives are invited.
Events include remarks from Mayor Don Bennett and State Librarian Wendy Cornelisen and a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Afterwards, Library Director Peggy O’Kane will lead an interactive story time that both adults and children will enjoy.
The library is named in memory of Maggie Osgood, a long-time pillar of the community. From the early 2000s until her death in 2019, Osgood grew the city’s library through donations and the efforts of volunteers. Osgood was also the city’s volunteer librarian. “Maggie loved Lowell and continually worked to benefit the underserved,” said Mayor Don Bennett. “She dreamed big dreams and would be happy to see what her closet-sized start has become.”
In 2019, a winter storm damaged the former City Hall. The storm left the library section of the building unusable. The city has been without a library since then.
The city purchased a former church after the winter storm to house the new library and City Hall offices. Since 2021, Eugene-based architect Curt Wilson has worked with the city to renovate the former church. The general contractor on the renovation project was Bridgeway Contracting, a Lowell company owned by resident Jerry Valencia. City Hall offices moved into the new building in
November last year.
In 2022, the city hired its first paid Library Director, Peggy O’Kane. Since then, O’Kane and her team of 15 volunteers have been busy preparing the Maggie Osgood Library for opening day. “Starting a library from scratch was one of the few things I had not done in my over 40 years in the library field,” said O’Kane. “This has all been a marvelous adventure in serendipity,” she added, reflecting on the city’s search for an experienced library professional occurring at the same time she was seeking to move to the area to be closer to family.
The library has a collection of 10,000 titles. This includes a significant collection of manga and other graphic novels. The library’s multi-purpose room will be available for classes, activities, and use free of charge for local groups and businesses. Other services that the library offers include free Wi-Fi, laptops available for checkout, and e-books available through the Oregon Digital Library Consortium. Residency within the city limits is not required to use the library.
The City of Lowell wishes to recognize the following individuals and organizations who supported
the library and City Hall construction project:
The Lowell community, local businesses, and other library supporters for over 141 individual donations totaling $33,835 during fundraising campaigns
Maggie Osgood Library volunteers For countless hours of sorting, cataloguing, and shelving the library collection and preparing
for opening day
Bridgeway Contracting General contractor for the construction project. Donation of time and materials for upgrades to the building façade and window details.
Business Oregon Low-interest loan financing to pay for construction costs not covered by grants
Chambers Family Foundation Grants for children’s book program
ColeBreit Engineering consultant services
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians Grants for children’s book program
Curt Wilson, Wilson Architecture Project architect
Douglas Fast Net High-speed internet access
Drs. Bill Strawbridge & Meg Wallhagen Grants for children’s book program
Jerome S. and Barbara Bischoff Library Sub-fund of Oregon Community Foundation Grants for books, other collection materials, and e-books
Lance Murty IT consulting
Lane Council of Governments IT service, legal services, and purchasing/installing/configuring new hardware and software
Lane County Community and Economic Development
Economic development grant for multipurpose room construction
Penny Hummel, Hummel Consulting Library consultant services and grant-writing
Pilcrow Foundation Grants for children’s book program
Roundhouse Foundation Grants for books, other collection materials and e-books
State Library of Oregon Information technology grants
The Ford Family Foundation Library capital construction grant
Additional comments from the construction management team:
“It was a pleasure to be part of this important community project. Turning vacant buildings into useful buildings is always rewarding! We had a collaborative team. A great team leads to great places.”
– Curt Wilson, Wilson Architecture, project architect
“Bridgeway Contracting has enjoyed being a critical part of the City of Lowell’s commitment to establishing a real downtown. The new City Hall and library project is a keystone to the growth of future businesses and housing for the North Shore Drive and Lowell’s downtown plan.”
– Jerry Valencia, Bridgeway Contracting, general contractor.
George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.
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