Press Release

DHEC Director Dr. Edward Simmer presented appreciation coins to State Library Director Leesa Aiken and Collections and Services Director Virginia Pierce. Aiken and Pierce were instrumental in helping DHEC find information about an old gravesite behind one of its State Park buildings. The goal is to create a historical plaque honoring the site and those buried there.

The Florence Count Library found a unique way to spend Library Outreach Day during National Library Week. State Library Director Leesa Aiken joined Florence County Library Director Alan Smith in welcoming children’s author Will Hillenbrand to help cut the ribbon on its new Children’s Bookmobile.

York County is taking literacy on the road with its new outreach van. On February 24, Director of Finance and Grants Wendy Coplen joined YCL Director Jason Hyatt and his team to celebrate the Sprinter van and cut the ribbon, signifying its launch into the community. The van contains a wheelchair lift and roll-on book carts for serving senior patrons.

Public libraries are gathering places, information spaces, entertainment hubs, and centers for lifelong learning. South Carolinians depend on their public library for access to technology and educational resources. Libraries provide equal access to information, which creates opportunity.

We're a little partial to lions given that two regal lion statues, named Sol and Edgar for former South Carolina politicians Solomon Blatt and Edgar Brown, frame our building. However, more than the cover of the Midlands Technical College Training Guide intrigues us.

Our digital collection now houses 100 editions of the South Carolina Wildlife Magazine. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources publishes the magazine to educate the public about ways to conserve, protect, and preserve our state’s natural resources.

Director Leesa Aiken joined Governor Henry McMaster and other leaders from the Early Childhood Advisory Council to unveil South Carolina’s Birth through Five Plan and celebrate the launch of First Five SC.

We are honored to participate in the New York Academy of Medicine’s “Color Our Collections” campaign allowing libraries, museums, and archives to feature special collections and rare books as coloring books. To showcase the historical component of our collection, we selected fairytales, storybooks, and illustrated magazines dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s.

Every five years, we must provide an independent evaluation of how our agency implements Library Services and Technology grants in South Carolina. Quality Metrics gathers information from various sources for 2018 to 2022, including the State Program Report, personal interviews, and survey data.

We may be the library’s library; however, we also serve South Carolina citizens. A grandchild of Retha Mark, the Secretary of the South Carolina Library Association in 1964, asked our reference librarians to search the collection for information about her career. Articles surfaced, including one from the Charleston Evening Post, which included this photo from her swearing-in ceremony.