About the Library
We are proud of our history and heritage and would love to share its story with you.
Mission Statement
The Chester County Public Library is a public institution providing services and resource information to meet the community residents’ personal, educational, and professional needs. Special emphasis is placed on providing popular reading, listening, and viewing materials, and stimulating young children’s interest and appreciation for reading and learning.
Our History
The story of how the Chester County Library came to be and how it developed into what it is today.
The Chester County Library came into existence in 1961 at the insistence of the women’s organization, the Pentagon Club.
Mrs. Lerlie McCallum, who was a community activist, was the driving force behind the formation of the library.
The proposal for beginning a library was brought before the County Court, which was Chester County’s governing body at that time.
The court voted to accept the library on a two-year demonstration basis with total funding coming from the federal government.
At the end of the two-year period, the County Court accepted the library’s funding as their responsibility.
Library Committee members included Tom McCorkle, Virginia Stewart, Imogene Fitts, Manson Roby, Hubert Seaton, Lewis Jones, and Dr. Orman Campbell.
The library was first located in a small upstairs room in the Court House and was opened to the public in October of 1961.
Lucille Melton was the first librarian, a position she held for ten years. The first library patrons were Jerry and Jack McCorkle and Nancy Meadows Canada, who served as Library Director until August of 2019.
After approximately nine months in the Court House, the library moved across the street to an upstairs room in the old City Hall building.
The library remained there until 1974, when it relocated to a storefront building in downtown Henderson that is now China King Restaurant. The present location was built in 1999.
The first public access computers were donations by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000.
Library Directors besides Mrs. Melton have included Betty Jane Stewart Hardin; Pauline Cherry, who held the position for 23 years; Juanita Waller; Linda Maurer; Nancy Canada, who was the Director for 23 years, was instrumental in getting our new building at 1012 E Main Street; and currently holding the position, Savannah Gilbert.
Get to know our current staff and board by clicking the button below.
Become a Volunteer!
We have multiple opportunities for you to help us make the library and our events as successful as possible. See how you can help and fill out an application today!
Volunteer Program Policy
Do you have questions about volunteering? Read our entire volunteer policy by clicking the download icon.
Printable Volunteer Application
Download a printable volunteer application and fill it out to let us know how you’d like to help.
Volunteer Job Descriptions
Read about the volunteer opportunities we have available. We’d love to welcome you as a volunteer!
Get Familiar With
Our Policies
Each of our policies is listed below in PDF format. You can download any policy at your convenience.