Phone: 919-250-1196
Branch Supervisor: Karen-Marie Allen
Hours:
Monday & Thursday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
Tuesday & Wednesday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
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Listen to our first podcast!Tea With Olivia
Have tea with Olivia Raney and Branch Manager Karen Allen while learning about the first Olivia Raney Library and the Olivia Raney Local History Library. Length of Podcast: 9:26 (9 minutes, 26 seconds)
History of the Olivia Raney Local History LibraryThe Olivia Raney Local History Branch is a reincarnation of the name of the original public library of Raleigh, which was chartered in 1899, opening in Jan. 1901. Located at the corner of Hillsborough and Salisbury streets, the original library was created in memory of Olivia Blount Raney, by her widower, Richard Beverly Raney. This building was used until the mid-1970s, when the collection was moved to the Kress Building on Fayetteville Street. This library was closed in the mid-1980s, with much of the collection being moved to the Cameron Village Library, as part of a new regional concept in our library system.
About 10 years later, a movement by interested citizens brought forth a successful bond issue and funding to support a local history library in the Wake County Library System. This beautiful facility is located on the County Government campus called the Wake County Office Park, off Poole Road, just outside the Beltline, at 4016 Carya Drive. Its neighbors are the Library Administration Building and Historic Oak View County Park, with its well known pecan grove.
The collection of 18,178 items is primarily local and family history oriented, broadly interpreted to serve the diverse background of local residents today. One will find background materials on American, North Carolina and local history for students and researchers. For the genealogist, there is a variety of resources covering both American and international geographical areas. Researchers can contact library
staff for more information.
Find out about our newest collection from local historian Elizabeth Reid Murray.
Click here to learn about some of our other collections.
Wake County Genealogical Society
The Olivia Raney Local History Library hosts meetings of the Wake County Genealogical Society on the 4th Tuesday of each month (September-May) at 7 p.m.
If you are interested in joining the society, click here, or call the library for more details.