One of Cincinnati’s many unique libraries sits at the end of a short leafy street in O’Bryonville on the grounds of the Bettman Natural Resource Center. Inside the building you’ll find the Cincinnati Parks Library and Archives, a rich collection of materials related to the history of Cincinnati parks, nature education, and the natural world. These materials include plans of the original parks, photographs, documents, maps, books, and an array of other items, and are available to the community for research, information, and general interest. Among the library’s holdings are the writings of early naturalist Hester Stephenson, herbarium samples from French Park, microfiche of the 1920s Park Board meeting minutes, copper engravings of Krohn Conservatory and Reverend W. Bingley’s Natural History, published here in 1870. Visitors to the Library have included local residents, students and researchers from around the country.
The archives building, built in the 1920s, sits on six wooded acres on Beech Lane and was once the home of the Bettman family. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Arthur M. Bettman donated the property to the Cincinnati Park Board in 1977 so the natural beauty of its beautiful mature trees, shrubs and other plantings could be preserved. Bettman Natural Resource Center also boasts a small nature preserve and inviting gardens constructed in partnership with the adjacent Beechwood Home, a not-for-profit long term care nursing facility for those with neurological disorders. Residents of the home and their families can enjoy the garden with its fully wheelchair accessible path, benches and picnic facilities.
The archival collection is organized and managed by volunteer staff. Archival materials may be photographed or photocopied, but do not circulate.
The Cincinnati Parks Library and Archives is open to the public by appointment. For more information or to make an appointment, email [email protected] or call 513-321-6070.
