Libraries

For more than 100 years, Steele County residents have been served by the Owatonna Public Library. There’s also a branch of the library located in the Blooming Prairie City Center building.

OWATONNA PUBLIC LIBRARY

105 N. Elm Ave., Owatonna 444-2460 • owatonna.info Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Closed Sundays.

BLOOMING PRAIRIE LIBRARY

138 Highway Ave. S, Blooming Prairie 583-7750 Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sundays.

Owatonna Library. Photo by Trevor Gieseke

SERVICES

The library offers a wide range of services to adults and children, including wireless Internet.

Children’s Services has materials and programs for children ages 13 andunder. idscanfindtheirfavorite stories, authors and books at the library or e-books through the library website. There are also DVDs, books on audio cassette and CD, and toys and puzzles available for checkout. Computers are available where they can type a paper or play with the best computer programs available.

The local history collection in Adult Services includes a variety of resources for learning about local history or tracing genealogy. Resources include local newspapers from1868tothepresentonmicrofilm, city and county directories, family histories and biographies, Steele County cemeteries index, city and county reports and proposals, Ancestry.com, passenger lists and immigration resources and the Steele County Historical Society digital photo archive.

In addition to the books, including large print, the library carries magazines, compact discs, DVDs, Blu-yay and books on CD. The library’s website — owatonna.info — lists numerous databases available to library cardholders. Library-goers can also download ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, music and independent filmswithanOwatonnaPublicLibrary card.

Special programs and events are held throughout the year, such as story hours for children, book discussions for adults, author programs, a poetry writers group and a twice-monthly movie showing.

HISTORY

Owatonna’s Free Public Library was established in 1896 following a $5,000 from one of Owatonna’s leading residents. In 1898 and 1899, public funds for the library’s construction were approved.

During the fall of 1898 plans of the present building were perfected by Frank Alder Gutterson, of the architecturalfirmofSmithand Gutterson, DesMoines, Iowa. Gutterson designed a two story NeoClassic building while the Owatonna firmofHammelandAndersonwas commissioned in 1899 to construct thelibrary.Itwasofficiallydedicated on Feb. 22, 1900.

The two-story library is constructed of buff-colored brick and Kasota stone,ande ecutedinamodified Greek cross with projecting central bays on the east and west (front) facades. Thesignificanceofthelibrarylies both in the role that it has played in the intellectual and cultural growth of the city of Owatonna and in the architectural style which it represents. The library was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in June 1976.

Source: National Register of Historic Places/city of Owatonna

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