Library History


From its first days as a Library Association in 1840 to becoming the Carnegie-endowed Anderson Public Library in 1908 (its building is now the site of the Anderson Arts Council), today’s Anderson County Library has grown with the community.

The East Greenville Street main library was dedicated in 1971. Over the next 20 years, a growing population meant more patrons, more needed services, more books and materials.  With the coming of the 1990s, computers were needed as well as other technology. The library was rapidly outgrowing its building.

The Board of Trustees and then-library director Carl Stone began serious attempts to relocate the library.  A consultant was hired in 1995 to evaluate the library’s system and to present a plan for a new library and the expansion of the branch libraries.  The completed plan was presented to County Council. Funding was obtained through bond issues authorized by County Council and groundbreaking for the new library took place in the winter of 1997.

Total cost of the new library was $13.5 million, with $10.2 million of that used for construction costs and the remainder for books and materials.  It covers approximately 96,000 square feet.  The old library on Greenville Street is now the site of the Anderson County Museum.