Welcome

This Web site is designed to be a "resource center" for the librarians and library trustees of the Ocoee River Region.  All other visitors are also welcome, as this website will familiarize visitors with the services and programs of the Tennessee Regional Library System.

Our Vision and Mission

The vision of the Ocoee River Regional Library, and its counterpart regional libraries across the state of Tennessee, is that the citizens of Tennessee will have the information they need for personal growth and development.

The mission of the Tennessee Regional Library System is to make libraries better by:

• assisting local governments and public libraries in the development and improvement of public library services;
• assisting libraries in the selection, maintenance and use of library technologies;
• providing supplementary library materials and digital content to member public libraries and facilitating the preparation of materials for public use;
• facilitating the sharing of resources between libraries through a delivery system;
• providing opportunities to participate in shared automation systems;
• and providing continuing education to local library staff and trustees.

Agency Profile

The Ocoee River Regional Library is a support service agency of the Tennessee State Library and Archives, Tennessee Department of State.  The regional library center is one of nine multi-county regional library centers across the state, combining their efforts as the Tennessee Regional Library System.  

The Ocoee River Regional Library is located in Athens, Tennessee, providing a central location to the counties it serves: Blount, Bradley, Loudon, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Polk, Rhea and Roane.

The Ocoee River Regional Library provides a wide range of services to its 26 member public libraries, including leadership and guidance, materials support, technology support, and training.

The Ocoee River Regional Library celebrates its 73rd year of service to the East Tennessee library community in 2012.

History

The history of this region goes back as far as 1939, with the establishment of library service by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the Tennessee Department of Education to the families of the workers building the Watts Bar Dam.   The Ocoee River Regional Library Board of Trustees, officially organized by the state in July, 1955, acts as an advisory board to oversee the programs and services of the Ocoee River Regional Library Center. 

The Ocoee River Regional Library Center acts as a service link between the Tennessee State Library and Archives (Tennessee Department of State) and the library boards and public libraries in its nine-county service area.  The regional library coordinates local library services and provides certain services to the public and to the member libraries.

The Ocoee River service area covers 3,489 square miles and has a population of 481,882 (2010 census).  The regional library presently serves twenty-six public libraries in nine counties.