Thank you to the community for joining our celebration. We appreciate each and every one of you.
Looking back over the past 100 years, it can be difficult, even scary, to venture predictions on the next century. But Black Mountain Library Branch Manager Melisa Pressley has a calming confidence when she forecasts: “The library will continue to be a gathering space for our community.” Through all the technological advances, societal changes, and other evolutions – the library has been a neighborhood stalwart providing a welcoming space evolving with its patrons’ needs while keeping its heritage firmly intact. And that’s a cause for a celebration… a Centennial Celebration!
In 1922, the Black Mountain Library opened in a sole classroom of the town’s First Presbyterian Church. After four more iterations, it found its current home on North Dougherty Street in 1968. Fast forward to 2022 when the institution celebrated its venerable centennial. “100 years is a long time for library service in a mountain community! We can read accounts about how patrons would walk to the library no matter its location, and that holds true today—we are a very walkable community and our patrons value that,” exclaims Melisa. “One of my personal favorite stories is that we had a pizza delivered to the library and the delivery driver came in the doors smiling—she told me that she knew exactly where the library was when the order came through because that's where she votes. To me, it's an example of exercising her right to vote and the library adapting to create a space that makes this possible. We really are a public space that allows everyone entry and access to information.”