South Broken Arrow Library History

Because of the quick growth of the city of Broken Arrow Library to the south, it became obvious that a second branch library was needed by early 1990s.

After a great deal of exploring, a site at 3600 S. Chestnut was an ideal location. Working with the City of Broken Arrow and the homeowners in the neighborhood, the Tulsa City-County Library successfully obtained the property in 1993. Bates/LZW, Architects, designed the 6,100 sq. ft. building and it opened in 1994. Theresa Fowler was appointed librarian.

The community immediately swarmed the building and it quickly became one of the busiest branches in the system. In 2002, eight years after continual hard use, small renovations were made to the restrooms. New carpeting and new floor tile was added and the furniture was reupholstered. In 2005, to further accommodate the growth of the area, the library enlarged its children’s area, created a computer station for its nine computers and added a small media center for books on tape & on CD.

Theresa Fowler was South Broken Arrow Library’s first branch manager. She held that position for nearly ten years. Christy Chilton succeeded Theresa Fowler in 2003. Kim Johnson is the current branch manager.