Peggy Helmerich has been actively involved in nonprofit organizations throughout Oklahoma, but especially its libraries. She served the Tulsa City-County Library Commission for 25 years, including two as Chair. A recipient of the American Library Association’s Trustee Citation and the Oklahoma Library Association’s Citizen’s Recognition Award, she has made a significant impact on the Tulsa City-County Library system. The Peggy V. Helmerich Distinguished Author Award, which was established in 1984, annually recognizes nationally known authors and has brought many well-known speakers to the State.

Mrs. Helmerich joined the Friends of the Oklahoma State University Library in 1991, and currently serves on its Executive Committee. As a member of the Library’s fund-raising efforts in the University’s “Bringing Dreams to Life” campaign, Mrs. Helmerich helped raise funds for the Edmon Low Library. Due in part to her personal commitment to the campaign, a substantial endowment has been established for the purchase of current library materials. The Peggy V. Helmerich Browsing Room in the Edmon Low Library is named for her.

She is a founding member of the University of Oklahoma’s Bizzell Library Society. The Bizzell Memorial Library’s beautiful and historic Great Reading Room, as well as the formal garden between Bizzell and Adams Hall on the OU campus, have been named in her honor. The University of Oklahoma recently awarded her the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters for her lifetime of work on behalf of libraries.

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