The Bridgeville Public Library began in October, 1896 as the Bridgeville Tuesday Night Club which was organized as a literary society. They met on Tuesdays every week between October 1st and May 15th at the homes of different members in alphabetical order. At the first meeting there were eighteen members present. By 1917 the club had grown to ninety-one members.
In 1917 for five hundred dollars this group purchased the vacant Presbyterian Church built in 1866 on Market Street. In 1919, Mrs. Margaret Richards Cannon organized a circulating library in the Sunday school room of the building. Five hundred books were collected from the community to stock the shelves. The Bridgeville Tuesday Night Club’s efforts were the chief financial support for the library until 1937 when the Bridgeville Library qualified for its first state appropriation of one hundred and fifty dollars. Mrs. Cannon retired in 1959 and was succeeded by Mrs. Fay Williams. The old Bridgeville Public Library has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The library remained at the Market Street location until August, 2009.
In 2005, under the leadership of the library’s current director, Ms. Karen Johnson, a community effort was launched to build a new library. Seed money and land provided by the developer of Heritage Shores along with funds raised through the efforts of the newly formed Friends of the Bridgeville Library (grants and fundraisers) was matched by community donations and aid from the state of Delaware. The old 1,200 square foot building was replaced by the new 13,500 square foot state of the art library at 600 South Cannon Street. The ribbon cutting took place on August 13, 2009.
As in the last century, the Bridgeville Public Library remains a progressive and active participant in the social and cultural life of Bridgeville and Western Sussex County.
Karen Johnson, Library Director
Library Board of Trustees:
- Randolph Jones, President
- Jeanine Scott, Vice President
- Ruth Gilefski, Secretary/Treasurer
- Tom Connar, Trustee
- Debra Chisenhall, Trustee
