Pat Woodrum is the former executive director of the Tulsa City-County Library System, a position she served in for 32 years. Since retiring from the library system in 2008, Woodrum has served as the executive director of the Oklahoma Centennial Botanical Garden in Tulsa. Among numerous awards, Woodrum was inducted in the

Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame was established in 1982 by Oklahoma Governor George Nigh "to honor Oklahoma women who are pioneers in their field or in a project that benefits Oklahoma; who have made a significant contribution to the State of Oklahoma ...

in 1993.

Early life

Pat Woodrum was born in Hutchinson, Kansas in 1941, the eldest of four children. At the age of twelve, her family moved to

Parsons, Kansas Parsons is a city in Labette County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 9,600. It is the most populous city of Labette County, and the second-most populous city in the southeastern region of Kansas. ...

. She began working at the Parsons Public Library at age fifteen. Woodrum was married to husband Clayton Woodrum at age twenty, while she was still in college. She earned her bachelor's degree from Pittsburg State Teacher’s College and later a master's degree in library science from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

Career

Three days after her graduation from OU, Woodrum began working at the

Tulsa City-County Library The Tulsa City-County Library (TCCL) is the major public library system in Tulsa County, Oklahoma. Overview The library system serves those who live, work, go to school in, own land in, or pay property taxes on land in Tulsa County. There are 24 b ...

system as a branch librarian. Woodrum served in nearly every position until she became the executive director of the Tulsa City-County Library System in 1976, where she served for 32 years. Woodrum remained active throughout her lengthy career with the library. She was a part of both

OLA Ola may refer to: Places Panama *Olá, a subdistrict in Coclé Province *Olá District Russia *Ola, Russia, an urban settlement in Magadan Oblast *Ola District, an administrative division in Magadan Oblast *Ola (river), a river in Magadan Obla ...

and

ALA Ala, ALA, Alaa or Alae may refer to: Places * Ala, Hiiu County, Estonia, a village * Ala, Valga County, Estonia, a village * Ala, Alappuzha, Kerala, India, a village * Ala, Iran, a village in Semnan Province * Ala, Gotland, Sweden * Alad, Seydu ...

activities, serving as president of PLA (1993-1994). Other involvements included: *State Chairman and delegate to the first White House Conference on Libraries *LSCA Advisory Council *Board of Regents Library Advisory Committee *Chairman of the OU Library School Advisory Committee *Founder of the Tulsa Area Library Cooperative Woodrum helped to establis
Tulsa's Day Center for the Homeless
as an alternative to the usage of public libraries for shelter. Woodrum was appointed to the first board of the University Center of Tulsa as well as served on the site selection committee and buildings committee for what is now the OSU-Tulsa campus. At the time of her retirement, Woodrum made a run for State Senate, though she did not win the election. After retiring from the library system, Woodrum went through the OSU Master Gardener Program and helped to create the Centennial Botanical Garden in Tulsa, of which she now serves as executive director.

Awards and achievements

Throughout her career, Woodrum has been honored with numerous awards including: *

(1993) *OLA Distinguished Service Award *OLA Special Meritorious Service Award *OLA President (1979-1980) *PLA President (1993-1994) *OU Library School Outstanding Alumnus *Tulsa City-County Hall of Fame *Tulsa Press Club’s Headliner Award *Women in Communications Newsmaker Award *Leadership Tulsa’s Paragon Award *Pinnacle Award (2010) *First female Senior Warden at Trinity Episcopal Church, Tulsa *Co-founder Tulsa Botanic Garden

References

External links

Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame Oral History Project -- OSU Library"500 Library Books Found" - ''The Oklahoman''"Library Science Due Recognition" - ''The Oklahoman''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodrum, Pat 1941 births People from Hutchinson, Kansas People from Tulsa, Oklahoma University of Oklahoma alumni Pittsburg State University alumni Living people Librarians from Oklahoma American women librarians 21st-century American women