Wednesday, November 2

Raleigh Public Library - 79 Years Old and Learning by Susan Cobb, Branch Manager

 The Raleigh Public Library was started in 1943 by the Raleigh Woman's Club. The library was in a room in the Crumpton Insurance building. The town of Raleigh paid the rent for the room where the library was located. The State Library Commission furnished the library with furniture and books. Members of the Federated Woman's Club acted as Librarians.

In 1952, the Board of Supervisors in Hinds, Rankin, Scott, and Simpson Counties established the Capital Area Regional Library System.

In 1963, Smith County became a member of the Capital Regional Library System and Raleigh had a paid Librarian.

In 1965 the home of Mrs. Floyd J. Robinson was given to the town of Raleigh for a Library by her two daughters, Mrs. Sarah R. Mitz and Mrs. May R. Killibrew.

The dedication of the library was on March 21, 1965.

Capital Area Regional Library System merged with Jackson Metropolitan Library System in 1973, where 500,000 books were available by request. These books were delivered every Wednesday afternoon by a station wagon from Jackson. It took one to two weeks for the requests to be at Raleigh Public Library. The Librarian worked 20 hours weekly in the library.

In 1978, the Floyd J. Robinson Memorial Library was built on its present site. It was a part of the Jackson Metropolitan Library System. 

In October 1986, Rankin, Scott, Simpson, and Smith County formed the Central Mississippi Regional Library System. 

At the present time, 20 libraries are part of the Central Mississippi Regional Library System. 

The Floyd J. Robinson Memorial Library is located at 150 Main Street in Raleigh, Ms. Our hours of operation are Monday - Friday 9:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. closing for lunch from 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m.  We look forward to you visiting our library. Our contact information is 601-782-4277 and feel free to contact me at rlbm@cmrls.lib.ms.us. 

Our library has survived World War 2 to the present day with COVID. We look forward to serving you at Raleigh Public Library. #cmrlsraleigh





No comments: