When the Greenville County Library System opened in a storage room downtown with 500 volumes in 1921, it quickly became clear the community had an appetite for reading. Two years later, the library launched bookmobiles, the first of their kind in the South, created to bring books to Greenville’s mill communities. Library branches would soon follow, often in small spaces, like this tiny structure on Augusta Road (circa 1940s). Affectionately named “So Big,” this miniature branch supported the Augusta Road community with a surprising 42 feet of shelving. While a more permanent home was acquired for the area next to Pickwick Pharmacy in 1975, bookmobiles continue to serve Greenville communities to this day.
Photograph from the South Carolina Room Collection. For more on the history of bookmobiles, and the Greenville County Library System, visit the 100 Years in the Making | 1921–2021 exhibit at the Hughes Main Library on display through September 13.
