The majority of the CCGS library holdings were donated to the Pioneer Library System for inclusion in the new Norman Public Library Central which opened in November 2019, and are available during library hours to all who want to conduct research.
History of the CCGS Library
Prior to 2019, the CCGS Library was the primary project of the Cleveland County Genealogical Society.
The Cleveland County Genealogical Society began as Moore Pioneer Genealogical Society in October 1980. Within a year the membership had expanded to include members throughout Cleveland County, and the organization’s name was changed to Cleveland County Genealogical Society.
Dedicated member volunteers spent the first ten years of the Society’s existence creating and publishing indexes of the earliest Cleveland County courthouse records. They also canvassed and published indexes of all county cemeteries, with the exception of Resthaven in Oklahoma City.
By the late 1980s, members initiated plans to open a Genealogy Library in Norman. The first library was a single room in Park Plaza on Flood Street in 1990. Members contributed books, furnishings, and much labor, and a Genealogy Library was born.
The library moved several times while located at Park Plaza, adding rooms as the library collection grew. In 1999, the Genealogy Library moved to a storefront at 205 West Main Street. This location attracted more visitors, but growth of the collection demanded another move, in 2004, to the Community Services Building on the northwest corner of East Main Street and 12th Avenue Northeast.
By the time of the transfer, the library collection had grown to about 6,000 items. At this time, the Society had custody of a large number of Cleveland County’s early courthouse records, which comprised the Archives collection.
Prior to the library holdings transfer to the Norman Public Library Central, the Cleveland County Genealogical Society Library and Archives was the major project of the local genealogical society.