Happy Birthday to... us!

September 1, 2010, marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Randolph County Public Library system. On that day in 1940, the Randolph County Commissioners appropriated funding for the first time to support the libraries in Asheboro (founded in 1935 and opened in 1936), Franklinville (1924) and Ramseur (1936).

At that time, Randolph was one of 52 counties in the state without county-wide library service. The Commissioners acted on the offer of state aid, which was made available to library systems that submitted a plan to use the funds.

The commissioners also approved a board of trustees for the system, which was composed of Charles W. McCrary, W.P. Rogers, Dr. C.D. Kistler, T.F. Bulla, G.G. Gilmore and M.E. Johnson.

The Randleman and Liberty libraries opened in 1941. The Archdale and Seagrove libraries were established in 1972, completing the county system.

In 2011, the Asheboro library will celebrate its 75th anniversary; more on that later!