Brookside Library History
“Something new is coming to Tulsa—a lively library” announced the Tulsa Sunday World when the Brookside Library opened on January 19, 1951 in a rented storefront facility at 3516 S Peoria Avenue. It was Tulsa’s first branch library to be in the heart of a shopping center and “a colorful place designed to get the gloom out of library surroundings”. Mrs. Helen Norvell was the branch librarian, followed by Lucile Wallace.
Due to strong neighborhood involvement in the Brookside area, many gifts were made to the new branch. The Garden Club Council requested space for a desk and telephone, as well as a gardening reference book area. This was the precursor for the Garden Center, which would later become a Tulsa landmark in its own facility further north on Peoria.
In 1962, the Brookside branch moved into larger leased quarters at 1113 East 35 th Street, just off Peoria. The new location added 700 square feet of space and provided more room for study space and group activities.
In May, 1967, the Brookside branch moved into its current location at 1207 E 45 th Place. The 3200 sq. ft. brick and glass building was built specifically for the library at a cost of $60,000, and was leased from George Abdo. It was later purchased by Bill Ramsey. The building was almost three times larger than the previous location, but was soon one of the busiest branches in the system. Lucile Wallace retired in 1967 and was followed by Karen-Dale Tschudy from 1968 to 1970. Dessie Buckner was the Librarian from 1970 until her retirement in 1990 when Margaret Zapatos was appointed. Kathy Doss has served as branch Librarian since May, 1991.
In 1998 Mr. Ramsey gave the building and surrounding land to the library system and loaned it $400,000 to enlarge the facility, more than doubling its size. The 7200 sq. ft. facility opened in February 1999 with shelving for a collection of 32,000. Designed by Page-Zebrowski, it featured vibrant colors, a decorative canopy and clever metal cut-outs by Lisa Regan. It was embraced by the community immediately, and continues to be a lively library.