“You can’t keep on and on wanting something as badly as we wanted a public library”

 The Wilson County Public Library of today is a department of the Wilson County government, dedicated to serving and growing the citizens of Wilson County. This recognition of the function that a library serves as part of the heart of a flourishing community can be traced all the way back to its beginnings, when a public library for Wilson was just an idea in the hands of a group of citizens committed to making it a reality.

Libraries were not a new thing to Wilson when the idea of a public library formed.  In the 1800s, Wilson was home to many schools and academies, all of which had their own libraries for use of their members, and the first attempt at a more widely available collection began in 1899, when the short-lived Wilson Library Association formed a subscription library, whose members could obtain borrowing privileges for a fee of 10 cents per month.

After the WLA dissolved, the Wilson Community was left with no public library – and a group of dedicated women committed to changing that.  The Wilson Women’s Club, organized in 1915, early on set their sights on the creation of a public library as one of their biggest goals.  As one of their members, Mrs. McLean, stated, “You can’t keep on and on wanting something as badly as we wanted a public library, something had to be done about it and in 1921 the women of Wilson did something.”

Through fundraising efforts and dedicated work, in 1922 the library that would eventually grow into the WCPL of today started in one room of the Women’s Club building.  As with many libraries at the time, it was a subscription library, charging $2.00 yearly for the privilege of borrowing books. The following year it gained its first governmental support from the City of Wilson, and in 1925 the County of Wilson also began contributing towards the library budget. This enabled the library to move to a location in the newly built courthouse and do away with the subscription fee, becoming the first free library for citizens of Wilson County. 

“One of the finest and most modern libraries in North Carolina”

The Great Depression did not quell Wilson’s love of learning, and it became clear that the courthouse space was not sufficient to meet the demands of a book-loving populace.  In 1937, through a combination of local funds and Works Progress Administration grants, construction began on a dedicated library building in the heart of downtown Wilson.  Two years later, in 1939, the library moved to its current home at 249 Nash St NW.  Today Wilson counts the public library building as one of its historic architectural treasures, but even upon its opening it was a striking building, hailed by the Raleigh newspaper as “One of the finest and most modern libraries… in North Carolina.” 

Obtaining a dedicated home led to more opportunities for library growth in Wilson.  In 1942, the library obtained its first bookmobile, allowing it to expand service to the underserved rural areas of the county – a program that was so successful that then-head-librarian Nancy Gray would eventually drive the bookmobile to Washington to speak before the House and Senate about the importance of such service.  Dedicated library space also meant that the library could now offer programming to the community, including a tradition of children’s storytimes that has been attended by generation after generation of Wilson families.

Library service for all

During the 40s and 50s, the library that served Wilson County had not yet achieved the modern mission of service to all residents.  So, seeing the need for this service, those unserved residents took matters into their own hands.  Once again, the driving force was a women’s group – in this case, the Mary McCloud Bethune Civic Club.  Thanks to their efforts and the efforts of others, in 1943 Wilson’s first library to serve African American residents opened at 562 ½ Nash St, in a donated room over a drugstore. This library would move several times over the years as larger premises were needed for its expanding services, and bookmobile service was added in 1950.  In 1964, the two libraries of Wilson merged, finally making real the dream of equal library service for all.  This library is still in operation today as the historic East Branch of the WCPL system.

Branching out

Although the library did its best to serve rural residents throughout the county via bookmobile service, demand in those communities outpaced the ability to provide service.  As a result, several of the smaller communities surrounding Wilson opened their own libraries – some initially starting as town libraries, but all eventually merging with the main Wilson library to form a true county-wide library system.

Two branches came about via a 1957 federal program to establish rural libraries, with the Stantonsburg and Lucama libraries opening that same year.  The Elm City library opened in 1967, and the last branch in the WCPL system, the Black Creek library, opened in 2989.  (A sixth branch library, Five Point Branch, was opened in the city of Wilson in 1953 and operated until its closure in 1994.)

Growing into the future

Today, the Wilson County Public Library system has celebrated 100 years of service and been visited by thousands of families as well as famous visitors including President Carter and Langston Hughes.  It has watched generations grow up coming through its doors, from first storytimes through homework help and job-hunting resources all the way through to large print books and outreach services.  The original 1939 library building, which has been expanded twice (in 1980 and 2005) to meet the needs of a growing county, continues to be a showpiece of Wilson as well as home to a thriving assortment of services and programs (and a Vollis Simpson whirligig!).  Library services have also expanded into cyberspace, with online resources and eBooks for all ages.  We look forward to having you be part of our ongoing mission to help the citizens of this community learn, expand, connect, and grow, just as our founders dreamed all those years ago.