About Us

Library Info

Our History

Bristow, Oklahoma was originally called “Choska Talfa” (Oak Town) by the members of the Muscogee Nation who settled here after removal to the new Indian Territory in the nineteenth century. The settlement became known as "The Woodland Queen" and featured at least a trading post. The St. Louis and Oklahoma City Railroad (later the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway) built a line from Sapulpa to Oklahoma City in 1898. Named for U.S. Senator Joseph L. Bristow (of Kansas), a post office was established on April 25, 1898. Charles C. Crane served as the settlement's first postmaster. A. H. Purdy opened the first bank, and settlers built a one-room schoolhouse. The town had a population of 626 in 1900. (See also: Linda D. Wilson, “Bristow,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=BR017).

The Culture Club of Bristow created the town's first library in 1912, within the American National Bank Building. From these humble beginnings, the library shuffled between church basements, school rooms, and even grocery store offices, until the Carnegie building was created for the Bristow Public Library in 1919. In 1997, efforts began to move the library to its present home at 111 W 7th Avenue. In 2000, the move occurred, enabling the library and its staff to broaden collections and services.

Today, the Montfort & Allie B. Jones Bristow Public Library serves a fifty-mile radius, as well as the immediate town of Bristow. Our library lies within the boundaries of Muscogee (formerly known as Creek) Nation and boasts large-city amenities with a small-town heart. We offer programming for children, teens, and adults. Our physical collection is 25,000 items strong and growing.

We are also a part of the OverDrive consortium via the Oklahoma Virtual Library. Additional services include, but are not limited to: meeting room use, printing and faxing services, public-use computers and Chromebooks. We have recently been awarded mobile hotspots through the Emergency Connectivity (Broadband) Fund. We aim to expand our services and collections to better serve the needs of our patrons.

Mission

The Montfort and Allie B. Jones Bristow Public Library strives to promote literacy, reading, and the pursuit of lifelong learning by providing services, programs, and materials in all forms of media that directly encourage reading, educational development for people of all ages, and aids in filling the recreational and informational needs of the community.

Our Team

Director: Justice Sweger

A Bristow-native, Justice has completed a B.S. in Information and Library Science and is currently pursuing an MLIS degree. Justice is passionate about rural libraries and ensuring access to resources.

Children's Specialist: Elsie George

Has a magical-like ability to connect with littles on their level, Mrs. Elsie always incorporates imagination, the arts, and creativity into her weekly Storytime programming. Elsie is a gifted musician and has a B.S. in Psychology. She's also our resident black belt martial artist.

Technology Specialist: Cyndi Keeth

Brings a calm, centered energy to the library. She has a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology, and she is always ready to assist patrons.

Circulation Specialist: Maggie Harding

Whether processing new items, providing stellar readers' advisory, or assisting in research, Maggie is a jack of trades at the library. She also creates most of the library's digital and paper resources.

Teen Specialist: Elle Perkins

Connects with teens to provide quality programs. Elle is full of creative ideas to get teens engaged at the library.

LTC Coordinator: Kimberly England

Part of the Libraries Transforming Communities grant, Kim provides outreach services to Rainbow Assisted Living and Woodland village and runs an Autism Spectrum Support Group.