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Willa Cather Branch Library - Opened 1956
The year was 1956 and as the neighborhood grew by leaps and bounds so did the need for library services. The 44th and Center Streets site for the Willa Cather Branch was chosen for its accessibility to downtown as well as for its close proximity to the new Center Shopping Mall and the future Norris Middle School.
Named after the famous Nebraskan author, Willa Cather became the Omaha Public Library’s fourth branch, which opened on December 2, 1956.
The branch was an architectural experiment in contemporary design that included wall-sized windows which allowed people to see the book collection from Center Street.
The freestanding bookshelves were purple, blue, bittersweet, red, yellow, and white, with furniture to match. Library director Frank E. Gibson affectionately referred to the branch as "the rainbow library."
Customers who visit Willa Cather Branch today may not find the same, bright, color scheme, but for the most part this neighborhood branch hasn’t changed in appearance. Patrons will still find the retro style, numberless, starburst clock behind the circulation desk, and large open spaces with freestanding shelves separating the adult and children’s sections.
Forty-six years later, the Willa Cather Branch still provides the neighborhood with not only a pleasant reading experience, but hundreds of free storytime acitivities for kids, computer classes for all level, author events, programs for the entire family and more.
Text from "Literary bites: 125 years and Still Cooking:
Omaha Public Library Cookbook"
Written by Cookbook and History Commitee, 2002