The Margaret Reed Crosby Memorial Library has been providing a wealth of information since 1927, but a lot has changed in recent years.

According to a publication on the history of the library written by former Library Director Linda Tufaro and David H. Stockstill, the library started out in the small room inside of the Boston Store at 130 W. Canal St. in 1927. The owner, Jacob Carp, rented the room to the city for $25 a year. It was the Woman’s Club of Picayune that suggested creating a free public library in 1922.

From 1922 – 1927, Picayune civic organizations collected $2,125.51 from more than 500 people in the community to start the library. The money was used to procure the West Canal Street location and to purchase 1,000 books to be catalogued and loaned.

The library moved to a location on East Canal Street and after City Hall was completed in 1939, the library was moved to the first floor of the building, which was designed for the library’s use.

In 1962, the initial 1,000-volume collection grew to 9,000, so more space was needed to hold the collection. That year the family of L.O. Crosby Sr. announced a plan to build a modern state-of-the-art building for the library on Goodyear Boulevard.

The new location opened on February 22, 1963 and the R.H. Crosby and L.O. Crosby Jr.’s families named the library after their grandmother Margaret Reed Crosby. The Friends of the Margaret Reed Crosby Memorial Library was established in September 1963.

The Friends of the Margaret Reed Crosby Memorial Library is the oldest continuously operating friends group in the state and currently have more than 400 members.

When the Mississippi legislature established state library systems in 1973, the Crosby Memorial Library merged with Poplarville Public Library to create the Pearl River County Library System.

In 1982, the library acquired the Library Services and Construction Act Grant to enlarge the building to 13,000 square feet. Renovations and the addition of the Local History Room, which holds genealogy collections, were also a result of that grant.

Today, the library offers more than just books. The library now has computers for patron use, 3-D printing demonstrations, children’s reading programs, summer reading programs, a genealogy room, and programming on a variety of subjects hosted by the Friends of the Library.

Current Pearl River County Library Systems Director Carol Phares said the library’s most popular program is the summer reading program.

Phares said the summer reading program is important for children because studies show children who don’t read during the summer lose their reading ability.

“We put on these programs to encourage kids to continue to read for the fun of it,” Phares said. “If someone is going to be a reader, they need to have fun doing it.”

The library also offers story time with Sylvia Bernard for preschool students.

Bernard reads stories to the children, but also performs fingerplay, which helps with hand-eye coordination, and crafts with them.

Phares said a lack of funding over the past few years has caused the library to cut staff. For a while, the library was also forced to limit opening hours, but thanks to a recent grant, the library is open to the public more often.

The Margaret Reed Crosby Memorial Library is open Monday and Thursday from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., on Tuesday and Friday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., and on Saturday from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.