MUSKOGEE, Okla. — The biggest library in the world is bringing a piece of its digital collection to Muskogee. It’s one of only two sites in the entire country.
“I have worked there for 6 years, and I am shocked all the time at what we have,” said Laurie Allen.
Laurie Allen runs the Library of Congress’ Digital Innovation Division. It’s the group using grant money to create a brand-new digital interactive experience at just two libraries in the country.
"Coming here and seeing what happens when we really bring the collections to life in a space will teach us a lot about how to make our collections more and more valuable to people across the country,” said Allen.
You can view the digital collections online, but this partnership will bring them to life in Cleveland, Ohio and Muskogee, Oklahoma.
"This opportunity allows us to bring their massive collection to us in a way that's going to resonate with what we are, the story we want to tell about ourselves,” said Kathy Seibold.
Kathy Seibold, Executive Director of the Eastern Oklahoma Library System, says Muskogee’s ‘Imagine More’ campaign attracted the group.
It’s an effort to revitalize the decades-old library.
"When we found the Eastern Oklahoma Library System, we just fell in love,” said Allen.
With 92,000 visits to the Muskogee Library in 2024, Seibold is hoping this new project will attract even more visitors.
"This project will have people come together in a collective place see something new something wonderful that's going to be wow and then we hope they'll also go out into their community and discover more about that,” said Seibold.
Sabrina Dean has only been in the library a few times.
"It's very comfortable,” she said. “I came in and said Oh, this is the place to be."
She’s excited about the new interactive experience to come.
"They could definitely put good use to that,” said Sabrina Dean.
They’ll have a prototype ready in October and plan to launch in 2026. The Library of Congress says this is a pilot project that they hope to expand to more of the 17,000 public libraries across the country.
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