About Us | Greenville (SC) County Library System

Background

Founded in 1921, Greenville County Library System opened with 500 volumes in a vacant storage room on East Coffee Street. Today, we operate 12 library branches, a bookmobile and a website which provide free access to resources and experiences. The Library System continually strives to be Greenville County's first choice for exploration, discovery and information.

The hub of our Library System, the Hughes Main Library in downtown Greenville, is just over 119,000 square feet (the second largest public library in South Carolina) and opened to the public in 2002. Our mission to champion literacy, inspire learning and foster community connection means many things: public computers and WiFi, computer tutoring and one-on-one sessions with our Librarians who can aid you with genealogical research, online job searching, school projects and more; expert Early Literacy teachers sharing stories and inspiring the imaginations of pre-schoolers at free weekly classes each week; meeting spaces where adults gather to learn and create; thousands of downloadable books, magazines and songs; a South Carolina Room that houses a world class collection of historical records; and much more.

Our Vision

To be Greenville County's first choice for exploration, discovery and information.

Our Mission

To champion literacy, inspire learning and foster community connection.

FY2017 Statistics (July 2016-June 2017)

Total circulation of Library materials in the system was 3.29 million.
There are 709,517 books and 161,741 audiovisual materials system-wide.
70,407 new books and 13,116 audiovisual items were added to our collection.
283,056 individuals are registered borrowers.
Total walk-in visits to the Greenville County Library System was 1.62 million.
The system offers 304 public access internet workstations.
Approximately two million website visits occurred at www.greenvillelibrary.org.

Policies

The Greenville County Library System has established policies in support of our mission to champion literacy, inspire learning and foster community connection.