A Brief History of North Carolina Public Libraries

From the time of the great depositories of Ashurbanipal and Alexandria, libraries have always played an important part in the social and cultural fabric of human life. They promote literacy, preserve memories, and create intersections between public life and private introspection.

Above: Durham County Public Library was the first free public library in North Carolina. View the full image here.

Libraries in North Carolina have done their part to fill these roles, becoming vital parts of the communities in which they reside. Often starting with a single individual, or a group of concerned local activists, towns and counties have, over the past century, created reading rooms and bookmobile services that serve the entire state.

Most libraries in the state trace their official beginnings to the early 20th century, with a few notable exceptions. Bath had a circulating library in the 1700s and claims the honor of being the only pre-revolutionary lending library in the state. Statesville had a circulating collection in the 1840s (Statesville Landmark, Mar. 31, 1882). Buncombe County, too, can claim with pride that their first subscription library was established in 1879. The Durham Public Library, established in 1897, holds the distinction of being the first free tax-supported library in the State. The success of Durham's public library led to a library boom, with institutions being established in the counties of Wake (1901), Anson (1902), Wayne (1902), Guilford (1902), Mecklenburg (1903), Craven (1906), Cumberland (1907), and Granville (1908).

Above: A little girl reads in the Public Library of Winston-Salem which was built with Carnegie funds. View the full image here.

Libraries were often the product of public service groups within the community. The Thornton Library in Granville County was the outgrowth of the Women’s Service Association, while others grew out of local school boards, home demonstration clubs, and church groups.

In the early 1900s, millionaire and business tycoon Andrew Carnegie began supplying Library Building Grants to communities throughout the country. Many North Carolina communities used these Carnegie grants to construct library buildings including: Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Andrews, Asheville, Durham, Hickory, Murphy, and Greensboro (which received grants to build two libraries—one for whites, and one for African Americans). Rather uniquely, because Henderson County’s population fell below the minimum threshold to receive a Carnegie Foundation grant, Carnegie personally donated $10,000 to build their library.

North Carolina libraries, like most in the South, were segregated through much of their history, though efforts were made to offer some services to minority populations. Davidson County received a Julius Rosenwald grant in the 1920’s to offer library services to all citizens of the county, and library systems throughout the state offered either separate African American branches (such as Asheville, Raleigh, Durham, and Greensboro), or offered specific bookmobile service to African American schools, towns, and businesses. Even so, library service to African Americans was woefully inadequate. In 1948, over 80% of North Carolina's white population had access to library services compared to only 50% of the African American population. During the Civil Rights Era, public libraries throughout North Carolina became truly public for the first time, offering services to all North Carolinians regardless of race.

Above: This Forsyth County woman was one of hundreds of people employed by the WPA to repair library books. View the full image here.

In the 1930s, the Federal Government was responsible for the founding and maintenance of many North Carolina libraries through the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The aid supported building new libraries, paying library salaries, repairing old library buildings, running bookmobile service (paying for the bookmobile, driver, and collections), and funding special library programs such as the statewide book mending program which trained women to repair damaged library books.

At one point, two-thirds of the public libraries in North Carolina were completely staffed by WPA workers. With the advent of World War II, the federal government had to terminate the WPA library project. Even so, it left a profound impact on the state. In 1926 (prior to the WPA), only 32% of North Carolinians had access to a library. By 1942, over 80% of the state's population had access to library materials.

Above: Bookmobiles served patrons in rural areas such as this Wake County tobacco farmer. View the full image here.

Because so much of North Carolina is rural, bookmobiles have always been a vital part of library services. In 1923, Durham Public Library became the owners of the state's first bookmobile. Named “Miss Kiwanis”, the blue Ford half-ton truck was a donation from the Durham chapter of the Kiwanis Club. The Durham Public Library bookmobile program was so successful that several other libraries acquired bookmobiles in the years that followed, often using retired school buses and donated pickup trucks to transport the library materials. Some libraries existed solely to run these mobile services, and didn’t have permanent homes until fairly recently (Jackson County, 1970; Rutherford County, 1983). By the mid-1950s, North Carolina led the country in bookmobile service, with 101 bookmobiles serving 94 counties.

Above: A Dare County girl browses books in an overcrowded library. View the full image here.

Housing a collection has always been a challenge, and several communities found novel means by which to provide collections to their populations. Gaston County’s library was officially established in 1937, but a collection was available in a local dentist’s office as early as 1902 (after which it moved to the YMCA), and a library in New Bern operated out of what had been the New Bern Yacht Club (and also rented out row boats). One persistent librarian in the 1930s was able to persuade county officials to house the collection in the Grand Jury Room of the courthouse, with the understanding that it would only be used when court was not in session (Pender County).

With 77 regional, county, and municipal libraries, (nearly 400 central and branch libraries in all), plus more than 90 mobile units still covering the state, libraries remain a vibrant and vital part of North Carolina.

 

Sources

Harland-Jacobs, Jessica.  The History of Public Library Service in Durham, North Carolina 1897-1997.  Durham : Durham County Public Library, 1998.

Historical Facts submitted by North Carolina Public Libraries. (View Here)

Jones, Theodore.  Carnegie Libraries Across America.  New York : Preservation Press, 1997.

Mitchell, Thornton W.  The State Library and Library Development in North Carolina.  Raleigh : North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources.  Division of State Library, 1983.

Moore, Bertha.  “The Development of County Libraries in North Carolina”.  Essay.  George Peabody College, 1948.

von Oesen, Elaine.  “Public Library Service in North Carolina and the W.P.A.” Thesis.  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1951.