Oil City Library
🏢 Oil Region Library Association · Oil City, Pennsylvania
Oil City Library
Built with a $44,000 Carnegie grant and opened July 6, 1904, Oil City Library has served Venango County from its corner on Central Avenue for more than 120 years — offering free books, digital streaming and community programs to the city that put American petroleum on the map.
🕑 Library Hours
| Monday | 9am–7pm |
| Tuesday | 9am–7pm |
| Wednesday | 9am–7pm |
| Thursday | 9am–5pm |
| Friday | 9am–5pm |
| Saturday | 9am–3pm |
| Sunday | Closed |
Hours may vary on holidays; check the library site before visiting.
📍 Location, Contact & Directions
Address: 2 Central Avenue, Oil City, PA 16301
Phone: (814) 678-3072
Website: oilregionlibraries.org
Plus Code: 87H2C7HQ+H9 (Oil City, PA)
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📖 About Oil City Library
Oil City Library traces its roots to 1864, when citizens of the booming oil-field town formed the Petroleum Institute — a civic club that bought books and hosted weekly readings and debates. After two reorganizations, the Belles Lettres literary club took up the cause in 1890 and their member Cora Hull Ramage began corresponding with Andrew Carnegie in Pittsburgh. Carnegie agreed to donate $44,000 provided the community supply a building site and guarantee $3,000 a year in maintenance; the women of Belles Lettres raised over $11,000 to purchase the present corner lot at Central Avenue and West Front Street. Designed by architect Charles Weber Bolton, the Carnegie Library of Oil City opened July 6, 1904, with 5,000 donated volumes. The name was simplified to Oil City Library in 1958, and additions in 1959 and 1980 expanded the building to accommodate over 100,000 items. Today the library is one of two public locations operated by the Oil Region Library Association (ORLA), a Venango County system governed under the broader Oil Creek Library District, which supports public libraries across Venango, Clarion and Jefferson counties. ORLA operates on the principle of "1 card. Infinite possibilities" — your card works at both the Oil City and Franklin branches.
⭐ What makes this library special
- Carnegie-built landmark: funded by a $44,000 Andrew Carnegie grant, opened July 6, 1904, with a building designed by architect Charles Weber Bolton
- Over 100,000 physical items plus a growing digital collection of eBooks, audiobooks and streaming video
- Free Libby / OverDrive eBooks & audiobooks and Kanopy streaming (30,000+ films) with a Venango County library card
- Youth STEM kits, a Minecraft server, 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten, and the annual Oil Region Festival of the Book
- Open three evenings a week (Mon–Wed until 7 pm) for after-school and after-work visits; free guest passes for public computer use without a card
📱 Digital Resources — Free with Your Library Card
Oil City Library cardholders can borrow, stream and research free through the system's digital offerings:
📚 Services
- Library card registration (free for most Venango County residents; ACCESSPA accepted for out-of-county PA cardholders)
- Public computers, printing, copying, scanning and faxing
- Free Wi-Fi; guest passes for computer use without a card
- Meeting room bookings for community groups
- Assistive technology resources
- Interlibrary loan from across the Oil Creek Library District and statewide
- Borrowable tools, kits, games and other non-traditional items
- ARC Inclusion Library collection (accessible & inclusive materials)
🎸 Programs
- Youth STEM kits and maker projects
- Minecraft server access for young patrons
- 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten literacy initiative
- Summer @ Your ORLA Library reading program
- The Winter of Reading seasonal program
- Oil Region Festival of the Book (annual literary event)
- Adult programming and community events throughout the year
📍 Nearby Libraries in Western Pennsylvania
Distances are approximate straight-line miles from this library.
All libraries in Oil City · Browse all Pennsylvania libraries →
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called the Oil City Library if it was originally a Carnegie Library?
The building opened on July 6, 1904, as the Carnegie Library of Oil City, funded by a $44,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie. The campaign was led by the women of the Belles Lettres Club, who raised over $11,000 to purchase the site and secured Carnegie's pledge by promising $3,000 per year in local maintenance funding. In 1958 the library dropped 'Carnegie' from its name — a common practice as libraries sought to emphasize their local identity — and it has been known as the Oil City Library ever since.
How far back do the library's roots go, and what was the Petroleum Institute?
The community library tradition in Oil City dates to 1864, when local citizens formed the Petroleum Institute — a civic organization that bought books and gathered weekly for readings, essays and debates in the heart of the world's first oil-boom town. The group reorganized twice before the Belles Lettres Club revived the mission in 1890 and ultimately secured the Carnegie funds that produced the permanent building on Central Avenue.
What digital resources can I access free with an Oil City Library card?
Your card unlocks Libby / OverDrive for eBooks and audiobooks (oilcreek.overdrive.com), Kanopy for streaming 30,000+ films, Mango Languages for self-paced language learning, and Pennsylvania's statewide POWER Library collection of research databases and digital newspapers. The library also offers Gale Virtual Reference Library, historical newspaper archives, and a range of learning and youth resources, all free.
Do I need a library card to use the computers at Oil City Library?
No. Visitors without a library card can ask for a free Guest Pass at the front desk, which provides temporary access to the public computers. If you want a permanent card, most Venango County residents qualify for free registration with a valid photo ID and proof of address; residents of certain townships (Allegheny, Cherrytree, Cranberry, Oil Creek, Pinegrove or Rockland) pay $30 per household annually. Out-of-county Pennsylvania library cardholders can also get a card free through ACCESSPA reciprocal borrowing.
🖨 This library offers printing, copying & fax. See how library printing, copying, scanning and fax services work — costs and mobile printing — and find other libraries that offer them printing & fax by state.
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✓ Hours & details last verified from official sources in September 2026.