OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — The Oshkosh Public Library is offering residents far more than books — from a 3-D printer and a VHS converting station to a teenager space called the Bubble and a job pod. Now, a multi-year facilities plan is in the works.
Library patron Susan Bellman recently experienced one of those services firsthand. She had old home movies converted from VHS tapes to thumb drives and CDs for modern viewing, including Christmas memories from the 1940s.
"And it is only about 5 minutes, but it's my, you know, I get, I get choked up." Bellman said, "In the video, there was a part that it was Christmas morning."
Emillie Cieslewicz, a digital services librarian, helped with the project.
"We were watching and there was this Christmas tree and it had a train going around the bottom," Cieslewicz said. "So it's just cool to see someone else's life experience."
Cieslewicz said the library's goal has always been to provide access to services and items that community members might not otherwise be able to afford or obtain.
"The library has always been the center of the community," Cieslewicz said. "We want to offer things to people that they otherwise could not afford, could not obtain. And so books, I mean, that's your entry point, right? But then there's all these other things."
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Those services include a 3-D printer, a teenager space called the Bubble, a job pod and the VHS converting station. Also new is a Video8 film reader, added in part thanks to Bellman.
"Emily said they didn't have one here at the library, so I offered to help pay for one," Bellman said.
During a 2025 strategic planning process, neighbors told the library they want a place reflective of how people live today, including accessibility, technology and community gathering spaces. Decisions on funding the project have not yet been made.
The library will work with Engberg Anderson Architects through 2026 to refine concepts. Neighbors can weigh in at focus groups and town halls before the final proposal comes out early 2027.
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