Brief History of Library Services on St. Helena Island, 1956 - present

The St. Helena Branch Library is hosting a 9th birthday party on 9 October 2021. The current building may be 9 years old but library books have been circulating on the island for a lot longer than that! How did library service for Island residents evolve through time? Here's a brief timeline of providing library services on St. Helena. 

1956 The First Book Delivery Service

Operating out of the independent Laura Towne Library at Penn Community Center, Mrs. Wilhelmina Barnwell and Mrs. Ethel Bailey delivered books in their personal vehicles to African-American children on St. Helena Island and Lady’s Island.

1958 Bookmobile Service

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Two years later, Mrs. Barnwell and Mrs. Bailey had more demand than their vehicles could accommodate. The AKA Sorority at S.C. State College awarded a $400 grant towards the purchase of a bookmobile. A used bookmobile from Richland County Public Library was acquired by the Laura Towne Library for $450 (including taxes, a new paint job, and repairs). Mrs. Barnwell drove this bookmobile around St. Helena Island and Lady’s Island for 8 years. Approximately 1,000 books circulated each month through her 15 “Book Outposts”.

1962 The "Beaufort County Library" is established

By act of the General Assembly in 1962, the Beaufort Township Library was transformed into the Beaufort County Library.

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Also in this same year, the Beaufort County Library provides services to all area residents. The Beaufort County Library is a fully integrated public library system and the Beaufort County Library Board of Trustees begins the process of closing the J.I. Washington Colored Library.

1962 First Branch Library Established

The Laura Towne Library at Penn Center becomes the first branch location of the Beaufort County Library system. 

1973 The Laura Towne Library on St. Helena Library closes.

 

1993 St. Helena Elementary Joint Use Facility

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The Beaufort County Library and the Beaufort County School District open a joint use facility at St. Helena Elementary School at 1025 Sea Island Pkwy on Highway 21. 

The St. Helena Branch Library at St. Helena Elementary School closes on September 8, 2012.

2011-2012 The New St. Helena Branch Library

In 2011, a groundbreaking ceremony is held in October for a new St. Helena Branch Library to be built on land donated by Penn Center.

 

The new St. Helena Branch Library opens at 6355 Jonathan Francis, Sr. Road on October 17, 2012. The 22,000 sq.ft. facility cost $11 million to build. It was funded with Community Development Block Grant and US Department of Agriculture Rural Development grants and loans and built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Standards. Liollio Architecture of Charleston, SC was the designer. The building continues to win multiple design awards.

There's a lot more details to be found in the Beaufort County Library Records and in the "Beaufort County Library - St. Helena Branch" vertical file inside the Research Room. Please make an appointment at least a few days in advance of your preferred date and time to visit, Mondays through Fridays: gracec@bcgov.net or 843-255-6468. 

Beaufort County Library Records Finding Aid

In honor of National Library Week, we just posted a Finding Aid to the Beaufort County Library Records under our stewardship here in the Beaufort District Collection. Since Amanda Forbes came on staff in late June 2017, she has concentrated on organizing the archives portion of the Beaufort District Collection. She  finished an inventory begun by Ashley Sylva and has begun compiling Finding Aids to our holdings. The Beaufort County Library Records, 1862 - 2018 Finding Aid will begin a series of Finding Aid posts in our BDC Wordpress Blog until such time as we can add Finding Aids into the SCLENDS consortium catalog. 

 

We have more than 150 Finding Aids yet to post to cover all the archival collections of records and papers that we steward so this is definitely a work in progress. 

Q: What's a "Finding Aid?" 

 

A: A finding aid, in the context of archival science, is a document containing detailed information about a specific collection of papers or records within an archive. A finding aid is a tool that facilitates discovery of information within a collection of records. This single document places the materials in context by consolidating information about the collection, such as acquisition and processing; provenance, including administrative history or biographical note; scope of the collection, including size, subjects, media; organization and arrangement; and an inventory of the series and the folders.

 

This description of records gives the repository physical and intellectual control over the materials and assists users to gain access to and understand the materials. Finding aids are used by researchers to determine whether information within a collection is relevant to their research. 

 

Read the Beaufort County Library Records on our Wordpress blog. Researchers can access the records described in the Finding Aid during the Beaufort District Collections customary hours of operation.  

Reminder: The Civil War is Back This Weekend

Beaufort History Museum will present its third annual Living History Encampment on Saturday, March 24, 2018 from 9 am – 5 pm in the Arsenal courtyard. The Beaufort County Library is a co-sponsor and BDC staff will be on hand to share information about the Civil War and Reconstruction periods with visitors throughout the day. At 1:00 PM, we'll cross the street and head to the Beaufort Branch Meeting Room (311 Scott Street) to host Dr. McKinley's lecture on the industry that saved Beaufort District after the Civil War.

This year, the popular Encampment event will include displays of South Carolina militia from 1860 – 1861 and describe the militia’s role in defending the Port Royal Harbor, and subsequently in defending the mainland against the Federal forces. Also featured will be military impressions of the Union infantry, marine and naval forces that used Beaufort as a base of operations during the Civil War after the Battle of Port Royal Sound on Nov. 7, 1861. In addition, the role of civilian abolitionists and teachers involved in the Port Royal Experiment will be presented, along with the early transitions of Freedmen in this area. 

Activities in the Arsenal will occur on a rotating and continuous basis and re-enactors love to interact with visitors. 
 

As mentioned above, the story of Beaufort District is quite unlike the story in the rest of the South. While much of the South was suffering economic and social collapse in the aftermath of the Civil War, Beaufort prospered in the 1870s and 1880s and into the 1890s on account of the rich deposits of phosphate oar on land as well as along the bottom of some of our waterways. Phosphates were a necessary ingredient in fertilizers. In the 1870s, 50% of the phosphate mined in the United States was mined in South Carolina and 50% of South Carolina's ore was mined in Beaufort County.  

"History of Phosphate Mining" program Sat., March 24 | BDC@ Beaufort Branch Meeting Room, 311 Scott Street, 1st floor| 1 pm First come; first served

Come hear about the industry that saved Beaufort with Dr. Shepherd McKinley, Senior Lecturer at the University of North Carolina Charlotte who will present Stinking Stones and Rocks of Gold: Phosphate, Fertilizer, and Industrialization in Postbellum South Carolina, 2014. Dr. McKinley won the South Carolina Historical Society's George C. Rogers, Jr. award for the best book of South Carolina history in 2013. The University of Florida Press recently released the book in paperback in case you'd like to purchase and get a copy autographed at the conclusion of the program.

Season's Greetings from the Library

Please note: The Beaufort County Library will be closed Sat., Dec. 23, Mon., Dec. 25 and Tues., Dec. 26 for Christmas. The Library will be closed Sat., Dec. 30 and Mon., Jan. 1, 2018 for New Year's related holidays. 

May you and yours have a blessed holiday season. - Grace, Amanda and Melissa

History of Bookmobile Services in Beaufort County

Latest update: 14 June 2024 - gmc 

Many people have fond memories of checking out books from bookmobiles. Beaufort County Library's first bookmobile arrived in 1962 and services continued until 1993. In 2015, Library Director Ray McBride proposed the return of bookmobile services to some areas of Beaufort County. Beaufort County Council agreed to fund McBride's proposal. The bookmobile was back, baby!  

To give context to the resurrected service delivery mode, Amanda Brewer researched Beaufort Township Library records, Beaufort County Library records, and vertical file materials we hold here in the Beaufort District Collection to compile the "Beaufort County Bookmobile Timeline" and information about past "Beaufort County Bookmobile Librarians" posted below. I have updated it to include activities and personnel to June 2024. 

Beaufort County Bookmobile Timeline

Compiled by Amanda Brewer, MLS, Bookmobile Librarian, December 2016

1956          Operating out of the Laura Towne Library at Penn Community Center, Mrs. Wilhelmina Barnwell and Mrs. Ethel Bailey delivered books in their personal vehicles to children on St. Helena Island and Lady’s Island.   

1958         Two years later, Mrs. Barnwell and Mrs. Bailey had more demand than their vehicles could accommodate. The AKA Sorority at S.C. State College awarded a $400 grant towards the purchase of a bookmobile. A used bookmobile from Richland County Public Library was acquired for $450 (including taxes, a new paint job, and repairs).  Mrs. Barnwell drove this bookmobile around St. Helena Island and Lady’s Island for 9 years. Approximately 1,000 books circulated each month through her 15 “Book Outposts”.

1962          The Beaufort Township Library and the Laura Towne Library at Penn Community Center merged to form the Beaufort County Library system.   The fully integrated Beaufort County Library system consisted of the Laura Towne and Washington branch libraries.  The Laura Towne library bookmobile continued operation to St. Helena Island and Lady’s Island.

1963          A second bookmobile was purchased from Barnwell County Library. This 1952 model bookmobile had shelves that opened on the outside and held 1,000 books. With two vehicles in operation, the Beaufort County Library bookmobiles travelled 1,000 miles per month and circulated 3,000 books.  Also in 1963, Beaufort County Library was awarded the Dorothy Canfield Fisher award as the nation’s outstanding small library.

 1966         Senator James M. Waddell Jr. helped procure funding for a new bookmobile. Both of the old bookmobiles were traded in for a new walk-in model purchased from the Boyertown Company for $10,096. This bookmobile had the capacity to house 1,500 books.

1973         In 1973, the “new” bookmobile had 65,000 miles and was plagued by repairs.  It was sold to Georgetown Memorial Library and a new bookmobile was purchased. The new model had the capacity to hold 3,000 books.  During its operation, this bookmobile ran a schedule of 57 stops in 35 communities.

 

(Beaufort County Library Corporate Archives, Beaufort District Collection)

  1983        At 78,275 miles, brake failure, and a broken transmission, the bookmobile was retired and a new vehicle was ordered from the Black River Bookmobile Company in Camden, SC. This $41,000 bookmobile was equipped with a wheel chair lift and had the capacity to store 2,500 books.

(Beaufort County Library Corporate Archives, Beaufort District Collection) 

1985         After several delays, the new Blackriver Bookmobile arrived in March 1985. 

1993      Engine failure and a broken crankshaft in June 1993 suspended bookmobile service indefinitely.  According to archives of Library Board of Trustees Minutes from June 1993, the repair costs ($6,000) exceeded the following year’s allotted repairs budget.  Decrease in demand for bookmobile service and increase maintenance costs led to the proposal to sell the bookmobile and use the money generated from the sale to purchase a van or station wagon for library use.

2016          Beaufort County Library ordered a new bookmobile from Farber Specialty Vehicles. It serves all of Beaufort County as of June 2016.  

2019      A second Bookmobile, nicknamed Bookmobile-South, was added to the library’s fleet thanks to the generosity of the Friends of the Hilton Head Library. Bookmobile-South provides services to residents of Hilton Head, Bluffton, and surrounding areas throughout the southern portion of Beaufort County while the library’s original Bookmobile, Bookmobile-North, serves residents throughout the northern portion of Beaufort County. 

2024      Visit the Bookmobile Services page on the Library's website for route and event information.

 Beaufort County Bookmobile Librarians

Using their personal vehicles, Mrs. Wilhelmina Barnwell and Mrs. York Bailey were the first librarians to offer book delivery service in Beaufort County. They travelled St. Helena Island and Lady’s Island delivering books from the Laura Towne Library at Penn Community Center.

Mrs. Olive Fordham (from 1962-1965) a Winthrop college graduate and native of Mullins, SC was the first bookmobile librarian for the Beaufort County Library system. A former Beaufort Elementary School teacher and wife of a businessman, Mrs. Fordham took the job seeking a way to “keep busy” and remained in the job until she retired in 1965.

The second bookmobile librarians were Mrs. Maisie Pugh (from 1965-1970) replacing Mrs. Fordham  and Mrs. Agnes Sherman (1965-1973) who worked at the Laura Towne Library and continued bookmobile service on St. Helena.

Natalie Lane manned the bookmobile from 1970-1981. Rosa Cummings teamed up with Natalie Lane in 1973.  Lane maintained the southern Beaufort County route while Cummings maintained the northern Beaufort County route. 

Paul Sayers was hired in 1981 to replace Natalie Lane.  

In 1983, Paul Sayers resigned and Rosa Cummings was promoted to another position. Jeanette Parker, a children’s librarian, and Sharon Mosley staffed the bookmobile from 1983 until bookmobile service was suspended in 1993.  

 

In 2016, Amanda Brewer was hired as bookmobile librarian. She remained the manager of bookmobile services into her administration as Interim Director then Library Director beginning in October 2020.  

In December 2023, Allison Reeves joined the Library staff as Senior Librarian in charge of bookmobile services.  

Sources: 

Barnwell, Hillary S. "'Book Outposts' became Bookmobile." Beaufort Gazette [Beaufort, SC] 19 Apr. 1985: no page.

Beaufort County Library Corporate Archives, Beaufort District Collection, Beaufort County Library. 

Beaufort District Collection, Beaufort County Library (SC), vertical files: "Beaufort County Library - Bookmobile Services" and "Beaufort County Library - History." 

"Beaufort Pleased with Bookmobile." News and Courier [Charleston, SC] 10 July 1962: no page. Print.

"Bookmobile Achieves Tremendous Response in its Early Stages." Beaufort Gazette [Beaufort, SC] 16 Aug. 1962: no page. Print.

"Library gets new Bookmobile Unit." Beaufort Gazette [Beaufort, SC] 1 Dec. 1966: Sec. A, no page.  Print.

Library History, Beaufort County Library website, Accessed 14 June 2024.

Newcomb, Ralph Jr. “The Library will even come to you.” Illustration. Beaufort Gazette [Beaufort, SC] 22 April 1977: Sec. B, no page. Print.

Nolen, E. C. "Bookmobile Librarian Job is one she wouldn't trade." Beaufort Gazette [Beaufort, SC] 22 Apr. 1965: no page. Print.

Zachowski, Julie. “Bookmobile and Book Money Status”. Memo to Library Board Members. Beaufort County Library Corporate Archives, Beaufort District Collection.  Beaufort, SC. 11 June 1993. Print.