About Us

What is a District?

The Office of Commonwealth Libraries divides Pennsylvania into 29 geographic regions called library districts. Within each district, The State Librarian designates one strong library in each district to serve as the District Library Center (DLC). All public libraries in the state are part of one of the 29 Districts.

DLC operates the District office and ensures the District implements a program of services to their member libraries through an agreement negotiated between representatives of the DLC, member libraries, and the Office of Commonwealth Libraries. According to the Statutes (PA Title 24 §9338), Districts must provide leadership, coordination and consultation to member libraries in the areas of:

• Continuing education for library staff
• Library services to youth
• Library services to special populations, including, but not limited to, individuals with disabilities, homebound individuals, the elderly, and individuals who are deficient in basic literacy skills
• Information technology and library automation
• Orientation and training for boards of directors of local libraries, library systems, and district library centers.

District Library Centers must also meet higher library service standards, including higher hours and collection requirements.
Some districts also work together in regions to provide additional or improved services via contracts between DLCs.
Districts are funded solely by an appropriation of State Aid on a per capita basis, with each District to receive a minimum of $200,000 annually regardless of population size. (Oil Creek is one of these minimum-funded districts.) Given the funding disparity and the differences in library services in the state, not all districts provide the same services or levels of service to their member libraries.

What is our geographical area?

The Oil Creek Library District covers Clarion, Jefferson, and Venango counties in Northwestern PA. The District Library Center is Oil City Library, the main branch of the Oil Region Library Association. Oil Creek has 11 libraries which operate 14 library outlets. We have two federated systems (Clarion and Jefferson) as well as one consolidated system (Venango).
Our member libraries are listed here.

What does the District do?

The Oil Creek Library District supports the public libraries in Clarion, Jefferson, and Venango Counties and works to develop them to their fullest potential. Our core values are Access, Quality, Education, Collaboration, and Stewardship.

To meet this mission, we work in three main areas: consulting services, member library staff development, and patron resources.

• Consulting services are primarily provided by the District Consultant with support from the Youth Services Consultant. The Consultant is supported in their professional development and is expected to become an expert in our local libraries.
• Member library staff development is delivered with these methods: website, newsletter, and reference resources, professional development opportunities, and resources to improve or ease staff workflows (ex. ScribePro). 
• Patron resources include both the virtual branch resources like Libby and Dial-a-Story as well as direct patron resources provided through member libraries, such as support for InterLibrary Loan (ILL).

The specific implementations for each of these areas is determined through a District Negotiated Agreement process (DNA). The District Advisory Council works with the Office of Commonwealth Libraries and the District Consultant to develop a budget and agreement of services annually. All member libraries receive the draft budget and agreement narrative then are given the opportunity to give feedback at least two weeks in advance of the DNA meeting.
The District is primarily run by the District Consultant, with support from the Youth Services Consultant and the District Administrator. Each of these positions requires a Master’s Degree in Library Science and multiple years of progressive experience.