The Ohioana Library Collection
The Ohioana Library was established in 1929 under the direction of Martha
Kinney Cooper, then First Lady of Ohio, who recruited other distinguished Ohioans to
assist in gathering a collection of books written by Ohioans and about Ohioans and Ohio.
The collection is comprised of more that 45,000 books, 10,000 pieces of sheet music, and approximately
20,000 biographical files on Ohio writers, musicians, artists, and others of note.
Fiction, poetry, and juvenile literature are areas of particular strength.
Additional holdings include scrapbooks, county histories and atlases, pamphlets, original illustrations,
and materials pertaining to Ohio women’s history.
Catalog records for most of Ohioana’s books and a selection of its sheet music collection are available on the
State Library Catalog. Ohioana’s records have been added to the State Library of Ohio’s (SLO) catalog. When searching the SLO catalog, if Ohioana holds a title, our name will appear in the “Location” field of individual records.
To search only Ohioana’s collection, use the “Words in Titles, Authors, Subjects & Notes” option and select “Ohioana” from the drop-down list of options in the “Location” field.
Catalog records for books received between 1986 and 1999 are not available online.
We are seeking funding to add them to the SLO catalog. In the interim, Ohioana staff can check
the card catalog for users.
To submit questions via online e-mail Ask the Librarian.
Though the collection is non-circulating, all of the items are accessible to the general public in the library.
To overcome the geographic barriers inherent to non-circulating collections, much
care will be spent to determine if materials are relevant to users’ information needs.
The collection has been developed by soliciting publishers and authors for the donation of books with Ohio connections.
Over the years, donors have recognized the value of Ohioana’s preservation, publishing, and awards programs, and their
generosity has resulted in an unparalleled collection that stands as testimony to the breath and depth of Ohio’s literary culture.
For information about donating books and other material to the library see Material
Donations. Also read about our Collection Builders Project, an effort to fill in gaps in the
collection, in which donors are encouraged to fund the purchase of out-of-print, scarce, and rare titles that the library needs.
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