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It
started with a dream...
 The
Poplar Bluff Municipal Library District started as a dream. Mrs. M. C.
Horton, president of the Poplar Bluff Bay View Reading Club, held a
meeting in her home in 1915 to discuss the possibility of a free public
library to serve Poplar Bluff and its citizens. A year later, a
membership library opened in the basement of the Criterion Theater
staffed with 14 volunteers. Members paid $1 per year for access to this
collection.
This
library proved so popular that in 1917, a library mill tax was passed
and Poplar Bluff had its first public library. After beginning in the
basement of the Criterion Theater, the library moved locations several
times before landing in its permanent home on Main Street. The building
at 318 North Main Street was constructed in 1936 with federal and local
monies for the purpose of housing a free public library. The Missouri
Library Association held its annual statewide conference at the Poplar
Bluff Library when it opened its doors in Oct., 1936. At the time, the
library was touted as being state of the art with electric lights and a
one hundred seat auditorium.
 In
1998 and 2008, the library’s home was expanded and renovated,
respectively, doubling the size of the original 1936 building and more
than tripling the size of the 1967 Children’s Library.
In June of
2012, ninety-five years after the community first dedicated funding for
the purpose of a library, Poplar Bluff made its voice heard once again
on the value it places on a democratic society that has access to free
and open information when they passed a quarter cent sales tax to ensure
the future of the Poplar Bluff Library. This revenue tripled the
library’s budget and provides greater access to the library’s services
and collections for today’s and future generations.
It was only
with the support, dedication and determination of passionate individuals
and a generous and caring community that this dream was
realized.
We
hope you will join us in helping realize our dreams still to
come.
Further reading on the history of the library:
More information about the library:
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Discover more
Events at
the library
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Find
more events and programs offered at the library in the
quarterly events newsletter, Off the Shelf.
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View the Library
Event
Calendar
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Take a
Basic
Computer Class
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Improve your computer skills, have
fun and make new friends when you attend a basic
computer class at the library.
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