Farnsworth Public Library
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About the Library

Trustees
Friends of the Library
Policies
Fines

An organized library in Oconto dates back to March 13,1878 when a group of book lovers met to organize the Oconto Library Association. Books were gathered and circulated from a member's home. A few years later the association rented a room in the Runkel Jewelry Store on Main Street which served the public as its library. By 1886 there were 1,120 books in the collection. The popularity of the library was sufficient to warrant a committee asking the city to maintain a free city library.

George W. Farnsworth, Sr., President of the Oconto Lumber Company, came to Oconto in 1856 at the age of 31. He had little formal education, but was well read and was mainly self taught. Mr. Farnsworth wanted to give something back to the area and decided a free public library would be of great benefit to his community.

​In December 1901, he made a proposal to the Oconto City Council offering to build the city a library, if they would agree to maintain it. On March 11, 1902, the City formally accepted Farnsworth's gift with the provision that they would make an annual appropriation to support the library's maintenance. Oconto's free public library was dedicated on June 27, 1903. From its early days, it served not only local residents, but also served as the center of a traveling library system for other areas of Oconto County. In 1993, an addition to the building was completed, with four floors open to the public.

Trustees

 
Bylaws of the Board of Trustees
​Meetings are held in the Library’s Bond Meeting Room at 6:00pm on the fourth Tuesday of every month.
Board of Trustees
Kitty Werner, President
Ron Rauscher, Vice President
Kevin Judy
Sandy Mathy
Mary Grace Murphy
Dean Reed
Debi Schroeder
Mike Werner
Bonnie Wusterbarth

​Administrative/Personnel Committee
Mary Grace Murphy
Debi Schroeder
Kitty Werner
Building & Grounds Committee
Kevin Judy
Dean Reed
Ron Rauscher

Finance
Sandy Mathy
Mike Werner
Bonnie Wusterbarth
Email the trustees at:​ fpltrustees@gmail.com

Mail the trustees at:
Library Board of Trustees
c/o Farnsworth Public Library
715 Main Street, Oconto, WI 54153
Farnsworth Public Library is a municipal library, governed by the above Board of Trustees. 
We attend Oconto County Library Services Board meetings, but are not a County Library.
O.C.L.S.B. Agendas & Minutes (2018 - present)
Board of Trustees Agenda & Minutes (2015 - present)

County Library Planning Committee (2009) Agendas & Minutes

The Friends of Farnsworth Public Library

 
You can never have too many Friends!

​The Friends of Farnsworth is a non-profit organization established in March 1990 to provide support services to the library. Goals of the group include funding library programs and special library needs, helping with special activities, and informing others of library services and resources.

Fundraising activities every year include the biannual book sales, the December Cookie & Candy Sale, regular brat fries, and the ongoing sale of candy bars in the Library.

Please consider joining this wonderful group of Library supporters!  For as little as $5 (single membership) or $10 (family membership) every year, you can consider yourself a Friend of Farnsworth Public Library.  Simply drop off the application form and cash or check (payable to The Friends of Farnsworth Library) at the Library.  You can also find application forms at the Library’s circulation and reference desks.

Friends Application Form

Meeting attendance is not required to be a Friend, but we would love to see you there!
​Meetings are held at the Library at 7:00pm on the third Wednesdays of March, April, May, September, October, and November.


Friends Officers
Caroline Young, President
Dianne Stewart, Vice President
Karl Ballestad, Treasurer
Mary Heiser, Secretary


Contact By Mail:
Friends of Farnsworth
c/o Farnsworth Public Library
715 Main Street, Oconto, WI 54153


Contact By E-Mail:
Send an e-mail with “Friends of Farnsworth” in the subject line to oco@ocontolibrary.org.

Policies

 
Policies of Farnsworth Public Library:
  • Code of Conduct
  • Donation of Items Policy – Receipt
  • Internet Use Policy
  • Policy for Children
  • Materials Reconsideration Policy & Materials Reconsideration Form (for challenging items in our collection)
  • Meeting Room Policy & Meeting Room Contract
If you are interested in our policies on other topics such as Circulation, Collection Development, Public Postings and more, please contact us.

Fines

 
Farnsworth Public Library is FINE-FREE for almost everything that we lend! 
The only exceptions are DVDs and video games, which accrue overdue fines at a rate of $0.50 per day per item.   
You may be billed at full cost for items that are never returned, lost, or returned to us damaged or dirty.  We may also charge processing or cleaning fees for items that need to be replaced, repaired, or cleaned.  We may employ a collections agency to recover outstanding items and bills.  Patron accounts which are sent to collections are billed an additional $10.00 to cover the administrative costs involved.  

​
Remember to stop in, give us a call, or log in to your account at www.infosoup.org to renew your items before they become overdue! ​
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Farnsworth Public Library
715 Main Street (Cty Hwy Y), ​Oconto, WI 54153
​Phone: 920-834-7730
Email: oco@ocontolibrary.org
​LIBRARY HOURS
Monday - Thursday  9-6