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Cleveland County Memorial Library to Celebrate 100 Years!
The enthusiastic Library Director Carol Wilson has enjoyed overseeing the library for 27 years, while loving every minute of it.
  Cleveland County Memorial Library started at the uptown Shelby Courthouse Square, when a group of young men and women would meet to discuss and share stories of what they were reading. They met once a week to share and exchange books. This began in  approximately 1909. Finally the group rented a room located above a store and for $1.00 a year one could join and as a member, come and  borrow a book to read.
    Finally in 1914 the community group got the city involved. 100 years later, 2014, a building located at 104 Howie Drive in Shelby that houses over 130,000 books, cd’s, and dvd’s stands testimony to that small group of friends.
     The library is most fortunate to have Carol H. Wilson as its’ Executive Director. She has been there for 27 years and loves what she does. Her enthusiasm rubs off on the staff of 16 who are there to help everyone who walks through the door and seeks to check out a book or needs help in any way.
    A popular section of the library is the very kid friendly Juvenile room where story and play time are held. Also included are computers for kids to play games and other fun and exciting things that encourage the kids to read and make the library their friend.
   Computers that are made accessible to adults have become  very popular. You can not only check out books, but also dvd’s and cd’s. The Genealogy Room, provides a place to do research and review of films containing newspaper articles from the past.
  Plans for a big 100 year celebration are in the works. The celebration includes a new logo designed by Todd Yelton. Todd will also do a mural, scheduled to be on the outside library wall, facing Marion Street.
   Also, as part of the celebration, this year’s Cleveland County Fair is saluting 100 years of the library. It will be a main theme at this year’s fair. The library will have a special booth at the fair and library cards will be issued and special gifts given.
 To celebrate the library, the Foothills Quilters Guild is creating a QR quilt - original and unique! There will be 20 squares including the QR codes leading you to pieces of history. The quilt will be revealed on the last Sunday in October - the 26th.
  A big reception (date to be announced) will be held for all past and present staff members and everyone who has supported the library down through the years. A large birthday cake will be featured and the community is invited.
  In addition, Director Carol Wilson is very excited about the RFID system which that will be installed. It was made possible by an $88,000 State Library LSTA grant.  This system will allow a much faster checkout and will permit a thorough inventory of all books, cd’s and dvd’s,  which was impossible before. Carol says; “It will greatly improve our service to the public”.
  The planning for the centennial celebration started this spring and continues to evolve. Presently the library is accepting any memorabilia which people may have and want to share for the celebration.
   The biggest change in the library is the technical aspects. The availability of computers is now essential.
     The theme of “Honoring Our Past . . . . . Imagining Our Future!” will be fulfilled with the immense planning and caring which the community is embracing. It’s all a big plus factor for everyone in Cleveland County.
-M.A. Andrews

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