ABOUT JUDGE GEORGE W ARMSTRONG LIBRARY
I love books and I cannot deny.
We have some old newspaper clippings from 1883 telling about the formation of the Natchez Library Association, which set up a subscription library open to the public. These clippings make for very interesting reading. We’re working on making these articles available on our web site.
Subscription libraries were started in America by Benjamin Franklin in 1732. A subscription library enrolled members for an annual fee of about $2.50 and used that fee to buy books. In January 1883, a group of local gentlemen got together to form a reading room, and by April, they had the grand opening of the Natchez Library in the basement of the Institute building. A major motivation was to provide a place for young men who “might otherwise find amusement in objectionable places” and who “have no place in which they can innocently and profitably spend their leisure moments”. There was a controversy over whether to allow women to belong to the Association, but they did decide to include them. In 1891 the name was changed to Alvarez Fisk Memorial Library and Museum.
In 1900 only three public libraries existed in the entire State of Mississippi. These were located in Natchez, Holly Springs and Biloxi. During the 1930’s a WPA (Works Progress Administration) county library was established in Natchez, but was closed in 1943 when its collection and equipment were combined to form the Fisk Memorial Library, which was located in Memorial Hall. The Fisk Library closed its doors in 1965 after the construction of a new public library building was completed, the Judge George W. Armstrong Library. If anyone knows more about library history in Natchez between the 1880’s and the 1940’s, please let us know.
Support the library by donating
When you contribute to Judge George W. Armstrong Library, your name, or the name of the person you choose to honor, will be printed on a bookplate and placed in a new item that will circulate throughout the Judge George W. Armstrong Library.
Donations to the library are always welcome and can be given for the general needs of the library or for specific projects or collection development to be agreed upon by the Library Director and the donor. Donations are tax-deductible, and a letter acknowledging your donation will be provided for tax purposes. No amount is too large or too small! The importance of math can not be overestimated. Leave it to the professionals to do my math homework and concentrate on other things that matter. Contact the Library for more information.
The Smartest Card. Get It. Use It. At your library.
If you live in the Adams County Library District you can get a free library card. You have actually already paid for it through taxes.
You can get a library card at our location downtown on Commerce Street with photo identification and proof of current address. For address verification, bring one of the following:
- Mississippi driver's license.
- Mississippi voter’s registration card.
- Rental receipt, lease, or deed.
- Postmarked mail (must be accompanied by ID verifying name).
- Vehicle registration.
- Checks imprinted with name and address.
- Vehicle insurance card.
- Adams County tax bill
Want to know more...
