Omaha Public Library is the public library system of the city of Omaha, Nebraska . A library association was founded in 1857, but the library board was not appointed until 1877. In 1895, the library became one of the first six in the nation to create a children's section. There are 13 libraries in the system.
31-705: In 1857, the Omaha Library Association was formed, folding after three years. In 1872, a tiny library was opened on the second floor of the Simpson Carriage factory at 14th & Dodge Street. In 1877, the Omaha City Council appointed a library board, which levied a tax to create Omaha Public Library. They immediately accepted 4,500 books from the disbanded association as a gift. Real estate tycoon Byron Reed donated land and his vast collection of coins, books and manuscripts to
62-499: A research request form . The Friends of Omaha Public Library (FOPL) is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization which helps to fund literacy and community outreach programs for Omaha Public Library and the Omaha community. FOPL raises money through membership support and sales of used books. General book sales are held quarterly at the W. Clarke Swanson Branch. The Friends of Omaha Public Library can also be found online on AbeBooks as
93-465: A book club to join. Omaha Public Library has hundreds of book club bags to choose from for adults, young adults and children. Each book club bag includes the following: canvas carrying bag, 7–12 copies of the book, and a notebook with discussion questions, author information and other materials. The Well-Read Collective is a team of Omaha Public Library staff members who love books and want to talk about what people are reading. The Well-Read Collective goal
124-410: A commission of 13.5% on the cost of postage as well as the book price. Currently (2013) the commission charge is set at 8% of postage and book price. Sellers can, within limits, set their own standard postage rates to various countries or by different carriers. Booksellers can upload their inventory using their own spreadsheet software or via the site's interface. Items that sell are mailed directly from
155-449: A culture of abundance and food literacy, promote urban agriculture, and help diversify open-pollinated plants and seed at the local level. The Common Soil Seed Library is a collection of open-pollinated and heirloom seeds that you can borrow to plant and grow at home. The seed collection depends on donations and seasonality. Over 100 online resources from eBooks, full-text journals, tutorials and databases are available to OPL members through
186-573: A one-time admission of two adults and any children from their household. In January 2021, the Durham Museum announced a partnership with the Omaha Public Library. Free museum admission passes, one per branch location, would be made available to library members for checkout year-round. The passes are good for one-time admission of two adults and dependent children or grandchildren from their household. The Omaha Public Library has
217-653: A partnership with Heartland B-cycle. B-cycle provides passes for library members to rent bicycles for free through their bike sharing terminals. B-cycle passes are good for five days and allow OPL members who are 18 and up to check out a bike free of charge. Each OPL branch has four passes available for checkout. Omaha Public Library offers research and reference help through the ASKOPL service. Users can call, email, text, or use online chat to get help from an OPL librarian to answer their question. In 2013, The Omaha Public Library created The Common Soil Seed Library to help encourage
248-505: A percentage fee for each book sold via the websites. AbeBooks initially offered its services for a flat listings fee, based on the number of titles listed for sale. The model was changed in the early 2000s to include a commission on sales. In April 2006 AbeBooks started mandatory processing of MasterCard and Visa credit card transactions on behalf of its sellers and added a 5.5% charge for the provision of this service: previously this service had been optional. In 2008, AbeBooks started charging
279-471: A regular storefront. Booksellers upload their inventory data to the AbeBooks database, specifying information about each book including condition and price. Prices are fixed (with US$ 1 being the minimum) and there are no auctions. Items available range from the extremely common, where there might be hundreds of copies listed, to first editions and signed books worth thousands of dollars. In addition to books,
310-658: A reseller agreement only with Amazon.com. In 2001, AbeBooks acquired Germany's JustBooks GmbH online book marketplace, which helped the company expand into the German, French and British online bookselling markets. In 2002, the founding partners were bought out by German media company Hubert Burda Media . In 2004, the company expanded its model to include new books, and acquired the Spanish company IberLibro, to better serve Spanish language markets. In 2005, it acquired BookFinder.com , an American book price comparison service. In 2006,
341-401: Is to help the public find their next favorite read, explore new genres and talk about new and forthcoming titles. Members of the public can request a custom reading list, invite the collective to their next book club meeting or community event or connect with them at their local OPL branch. The Genealogy & Local History Room is currently located at 3020 S. 84th Street, the former location of
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#1732783759149372-490: The Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium . The zoo donated tickets to the library for the purpose of offering them free of charge to library members. A limited number of tickets are delivered to OPL branches for distribution four times a year. Each library branch then offers these one-time visit tickets to interested library members which allows them and three of their family members to visit the zoo for free. In April 2018,
403-517: The Omaha Children's Museum . Free children's museum tickets would be made available four times a year for distribution to library members. Each free one-time visit ticket is good for up to four family members. In December 2018, the Omaha Public Library announced a partnership with Lauritzen Gardens . Free garden admission passes, one per branch location, would be made available to library members for checkout year-round. The passes are good for
434-472: The Democrats do their duty." AbeBooks AbeBooks ( / ˈ eɪ b . b ʊ k s / AYB -buuks ) is an e-commerce global online marketplace with seven websites that offer books, fine art, and collectables from sellers in over 50 countries. Launched in 1996, it specialises in used, rare and out-of-print books. AbeBooks has been a subsidiary of Amazon since 2008. In 1995, AbeBooks
465-584: The Liberty of Unlicenc'd Printing To the Parliament of England by John Milton for $ 65,000 and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien , also for $ 65,000. The website periodically reports their recent high value sales. AbeBooks' users can search across the listings of many independent bookstores, thereby allowing small, independent players to compete with bookselling superstores. Some of the member bookstores offer their books online only, while others also maintain
496-475: The Omaha City Council. Terms are for three years. The Board of Trustees meet every third Thursday of each month at 5 PM at different branches throughout the system. Meetings are open to the public and the agenda and minutes are posted on the Omaha Public Library website. Locations listed in alphabetical order by most common name In May 2017, the Omaha Public Library announced a partnership with
527-653: The Omaha Library Friends and on eBay as the Friends of the Omaha Public Library. Omaha City Council The City Council of Omaha, Nebraska , is elected every four years on a nonpartisan basis. The next election will occur in 2025. Omaha has a strong mayor form of government. Members are elected by district. Currently seven city council districts are represented across the City of Omaha. City council members represented seven districts throughout
558-407: The Omaha Public Library announced a partnership with Fontenelle Forest . Each of OPL's 13 branches would have seven free forest admission passes available for check-out year-round. Passes are good for one-time admission on the day of the week designated on the pass, and each pass admits two adults and children from their household. In August 2018, the Omaha Public Library announced a partnership with
589-399: The Omaha Public Library's Resource Center website. The Book Drop is a weekly podcast produced by OPL staff that explores topics related to the Omaha community, libraries and the joy of reading. OPL staff offer reading suggestions, chat with guests and delve into books, resources and pop culture. Omaha Public Library offers a variety of book club resources to help start a book club or find
620-699: The Shopko department store. The Genealogy & Local History Room houses a non-circulating collection of more than 27,000 items (not counting a large collection of local records and newspapers on microfilm), including an extensive collection of Nebraska resources, most standard genealogy reference works, and a large collection of family genealogies organized by surname. Family research enthusiasts will also find vital records indices, cemetery indices and transcriptions, census indices, county and town histories, and plat books, atlases, and gazetteers. The public can request help with local history and genealogy research by filling out
651-480: The UK and Spain. Most of its inventory consists of used books, including rare, signed, first editions or out of print books. It has been named one of British Columbia's Top Employers every year since 2008. In February 2015 ABE recorded its most expensive sales up to that time: a rare illustrated ornithology book was sold on behalf of one of its dealers for $ 191,000. Other highend sales included Areopagitica: A Speech for
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#1732783759149682-613: The city of Omaha. The city council is officially nonpartisan; party affiliations are for informational purposes only. However, registered Democrats hold a majority. In 2006 the Nebraska State Legislature began deliberations on adding additional seats to the Omaha City Council. Due to the annexation of Elkhorn by Omaha, the city council has proposed new boundaries for the districts that would split Elkhorn between two districts. Legislative Bill 405, introduced by Elkhorn State Senator Dwite Pedersen, would increase
713-793: The company acquired Fillz, a book-inventory and order-management company, and purchased a 40% stake in LibraryThing in May, a social networking and book cataloging website for bibliophiles. In June 2008 AbeBooks was awarded the British Columbia Technology Industry Association Impact Award for Leadership in Social Responsibility for its charitable activities, literacy initiatives, and commitment to environmental friendliness in its business practices. In December 2008,
744-664: The company was sold to Amazon. In 2018, the company announced it would no longer fully support sellers from a number of countries, including South Korea , Hungary , and the Czech Republic . Several hundred other sellers pulled their inventories from the AbeBooks site in protest. AbeBooks is headquartered in Victoria, British Columbia , Canada, with its European office in Düsseldorf , Germany. The company manages regional websites for North America, France, Germany, Italy,
775-480: The library in the early 1890s, and in 1894, Omaha Public Library opened in its first permanent home at 18th and Harney. A year later, Omaha Public Library became one of the first six public libraries in the nation to create a separate children's section. A new central library called the W. Dale Clark Library opened at 14th and Farnam Streets in 1977 across from the Gene Leahy Mall . Of the 13 libraries in
806-423: The marketplace also offers periodicals and journals, fine art such as prints and posters, vintage photographs, maps, sheet music and paper ephemera such as postcards, letters and other documents. Sellers pay a monthly subscription to list their books on the site, ranging from $ 25 to $ 500, depending on how many books they list. This subscription fee has been in place since at least April 2008. In addition, sellers pay
837-506: The size of the Omaha City Council to 9 members and realign districts. However, this bill was tabled in March 2007 until the next legislative session. The first Omaha City Council was convened in 1857. It was composed of A. D. Jones , who resigned March 23, 1857; T. G. Goodwill, who died May 18, 1857; G. C. Bove, H. H. Visscher, Thomas Davis, William N. Byers , William W. Wyman, Thomas O'Connor, C. H. Downs, J. H. Kellom, for whom Kellom School
868-508: The system, the W. Dale Clark Library houses the largest collection, including 7,000 genealogy books; 2,000 photos of the 1898 Trans-Mississippi International Exposition ; a cuneiform collection; thousands of old postcards; and a rich collection of Omaha and Nebraska history resources. Mildred L. Batchelder , Namesake of the American Library Association award given to the publisher of a translated children's book
899-420: Was formerly a librarian at an Omaha Library. One of her stated goals in her work, which was encouraging the translation of children's books from around the world, was "to eliminate barriers to understanding between people of different cultures, races, nations, and languages." The Omaha Public Library is governed by a nine-member board of trustees. These people are appointed by the mayor of Omaha and confirmed by
930-564: Was founded by Rick and Vivian Pura, and Keith and Cathy Waters. It was incorporated in 1995 and launched its websites in 1996, initially including listings for only four bookstores. The company name "Abebooks" is derived from their original name, "Advanced Book Exchange". From the late 1990s to 2005, AbeBooks had reseller agreements with eBay , Half.com , Barnes & Noble.com , BibliOZ.com and Amazon.com , allowing AbeBooks to market and sell booksellers' books through those channels; these agreements were dissolved in 2005. AbeBooks currently has
961-567: Was later named; and John Creighton , whom Creighton University was later named for. The city council has long taken stances on issues. In 1859 a local newspaper reported that a, "...bill introduced in the Omaha City Council, for the abolition of slavery in this Territory, was called up yesterday, and its further consideration postponed for two weeks. A strong effort will be made among the Republicans to secure its passage; we think, however, it will fail. The farce certainly cannot be enacted if