Memphis Public Library
Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library
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| Type | Public Library |
|---|---|
| Established | 1893 |
| Location | Memphis, Tennessee |
| Branches | 18 |
| Access and use | |
| Population served | 938,000 (Shelby County) |
| Website | http://www.memphislibrary.org/ |
Memphis Public Libraries (MPL) is a public library system serving Shelby County, Tennessee.
Memphis Public Libraries has a yearly circulation of 250,000 items and serves 400,000 patrons a year. The library has 18 branches located throughout the city of Memphis and surrounding areas, offering up to 3,400 programs to the public each year.
Memphis Public Libraries has been recognized for its commitment to being a key center for both cultural and intellectual growth. In 1998, former director C. Lamar Wallis was lauded for his dedication to intellectual freedom with the Tennessee Library Association's Freedom of Information Award. In 2007 MPL was awarded the National Medal for Museum and Library Service by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
WYPL, the library-run radio station, has been recognized by the American Foundation for the Blind as the Model Radio Reading Service.
The history of Memphis Public Libraries began in the 1880s, when the city received $75,000 from Frederick Cossitt to build a public library on a plot of land near the Mississippi River. With the city promising funds for operations, Cossitt’s gift was used entirely on the construction of the library, resulting in an elaborate Romanesque design by architect L.B. Wheeler.
However when the library opened on April 12th, 1893, it was soon made clear that the city government lacked funds for books; upon its grand opening, the library's shelves were empty. Memphians acted quickly, holding fundraisers and events that would eventually fill the Cossitt Library with books and research materials.
In March of 1925, Jesse Cunningham was hired to serve as former library director Charles Dutton Johnston’s successor. A graduate from the New York State Library School, Cunningham introduced a number of new standards to Memphis. In 1931 Cunningham established libraries were established in Shelby County schools, and a bookmobile began to service up to fifteen rural communities. By 1939 a library branch for African Americans was built on Vance Avenue, which has since been named for longtime Vance resident and Civil Rights activist, Cornelia Crenshaw.
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