Charlotte County Library

Charlotte County Library. Charlotte Court House, Virginia. , Beginning in 1937, Ambassador and Mrs. David K.E. Bruce anonymously gave money to 11 sites in Southside Virginia to build libraries. The Bruce libraries, as they were called, became the first public libraries to allow access to African Americans. Though African Americans were restricted to using side or back doors and did not have full access to the collections, the Bruce libraries still represent an advancement in access to library materials for African Americans., The Charlotte County Library was originally built in 1830 as the Hager-Marshall House. The Bruces bought the house and had it fitted as a library, making it the only Bruce library to use an existing building. The others are built on similar plans drawn up by an architect for the Bruces. The libraries were colonial-style buildings with a large reading rooms across the front and an office for the librarian and a meeting room for African Americans at the back. There were also restrooms and storage areas., The Charlotte County Library was the first library in Virginia funded by the Bruce's library fund. The library had separate opening ceremonies one day apart for white and African American patrons. Miss Mary Barksdale was the first librarian. Today, many of the Bruce libraries have become too small for the needs of the counties and have been converted to county offices or museums., [Captions:] , (Above) The Charlotte County Library, founded in 1937, was one of many county libraries founded by Ambassador and Mrs. David K.E. Bruce., (Left Top) The Charlotte County Library received its fourth bookmobile through the statewide Library Project on August 21, 1939., (Left Bottom) The interior of the bookmobile., Bookmark given to library patrons, ca. 1938, Miss Mary Barksdale was the Charlotte County Library's first librarian.