Hours:- Monday: 1 - 8pm | Tuesday: 10am - 6pm
Wednesday: 10am-6pm | Thursday: 10am-6pm
Friday: 1pm - 5pm | Saturday: 9am - 2pm
Sunday - Closed
Phone: 434.985.5227
Fax: 434.985.3315
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Greene Library Budget Presentation to the Board of Supervisors
Programs for Adults
Book Discussion Group
Book Discussion Group meets the first Thursday of every month, at 7 p.m. in the Library Meeting Room. All are welcome. For information or ride sharing, please call the library at 985-5227.
Want to see what we've already read? Try Searching the calendar.
Book Discussion Group
THE LAST REPORT ON THE MIRACLES AT LITTLE NO HORSE by Louise Erdich
June 05, 2008
7:00 pm
As a priest nears the end of his life, he is asked to prove or disprove the sainthood of a woman he knows well and struggles to guard his own secret identity in the process.
Check the catalog 
Book Discussion Group
UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN by Jon Krakauer
July 03, 2008
7:00 pm
Traces the 1984 murder of a woman and her child by fundamentalist Mormons, exploring the belief systems and traditions that mark the faith's most extreme factions and what their practices reflect about the nature of religion in America.
Check the catalog
Film Series - Fourth Wednesdays
Funded by the Friends of Greene County Library, these are award winning, first run, independent and foreign films from the top festivals, shown on the BIG SCREEN (in surround sound!) in the library meeting room. Come on out -- it's FREE and it's FUN. Join your friends, sip some coffee, watch a great film and join in a discussion afterwards. These films have not been rated by the MPAA and should be assumed to have mature content.
Film Series - Fourth Wednesdays
“NOISE” Directed by Matthew Saville Australia
May 28, 2008
7:00 pm
This is a story about the wrong person in the right place at the wrong time. Two heinous crimes have left a suburban town reeling. Police quickly connect them but are desperate for witnesses as the local community enfolds itself in a shroud of secrecy, borne from fear and an untrammeled mistrust of authority. RUNNING TIME: 109 min. RELEASE DATE: 2007
History of the Greene County Library
Donated Books and the Old County Jail
The Greene County Library had its beginnings in the late 1960’s when a Library Committee, spearheaded by members of the Home Demonstration and Lions Clubs, formed to explore the idea of a library for the county and to generate support for its formation. Books were donated and permission granted to use the old County Jail as a home for the first library ever in Greene County. Volunteer staff worked the few hours that the library was open to the public.
It soon became apparent that old textbooks and worn-out fiction was not enough to satisfy the community’s need for library services. Former editor of the local newspaper, Mozelle Brown, president of the Home Demonstration Club, Hurford and Ethel Davison, and Brooks Silvette, a local writer and artist, campaigned actively to promote the vision of improved library service in Greene. As a member of the Friends of the Library in Charlottesville, Mrs. Silvette was influential in the decision for Greene County to become part of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library system.
As part of the regional system, Greene County received bookmobile service in early 1974 at the Corner Store, Ruckersville, Quinque, Stanardsville, and Dyke. After a short period of negotiation between the County Board of Supervisors and the J-MRL Board of Trustees, the Greene County Branch Library opened its doors for the public in October 1974 in a small brick building on Main Street in Stanardsville, formerly known as the Gibson residence. Space was limited and parking a problem, but Greene patrons were very happy to have a library that was open for 24 hours a week.
A One-Day Move!
In January 1982, the library moved to the “Shank Building” a former laundromat and plumbing business on Stanard Street. Thanks to many volunteers and good organization, the move was made in only one day. This new facility had one large room for the adult collection, two smaller rooms for juvenile books and a room for meetings and story hours. From July 1987 - June 1988, the Greene library was open 24 hours a week, had a collection of 13,679 items, had 1,666 registered users, and circulated 34,721 items.
In 1987, the installation of a system-wide automated catalog and record-keeping system had a huge impact on Greene’s circulation, giving patrons greater access to the collections at all of the regional library branches.
Community support again played a vital role in the 1992 growth of the Greene County Library as it expanded into the renovated garage area adjacent to the library, enabled by a County Library fund-raising project which augmented Greene County’s Board of Supervisor’s funding and Friends of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library funding. Dr. Janet Rowley, formerly of Greene County, (now residing in Chicago), donated $10,000 towards this project in memory of her parents, Ethel and Hurford Davison. The Ruckersville Ruritans acted as general contractor and provided the labor for most of the project. Staff and volunteers shifted the entire collection during a week in February. The new room, which housed the children’s collection and provided much-needed space for children’s programs, was dedicated on April 25, 1992.
Savoring the Present, Anticipating the Future
Since July 1996, the Greene Library has been open 40 hours a week and has had a professional librarian as branch supervisor. From July 1997 to June 1998, this library circulated 86,515 items, almost doubling the circulation of 1992, had 5,879 registered patrons (an impressive showing for a county with an estimated population of 14,200), and a collection of 21,785 items.
In 1999 the Library increased its hours to 42 per week, and the three staff, aside from the fulltime branch manager, were all up to 20 hours per week. As Greene County continued to grow the library was busier than ever with circulation and registrations continuing to rise. It was clear that, wonderful as the little library was, the building did not permit the library to keep up with the needs of public and staff for space, nor was the building accessible for residents with disabilities. However, no fear, for by the late 1990s a small group of people in the community, led by Betty Gaylord, then the Greene County trustee on the J-MRL board, had already begun not only dreaming, but seriously planning for a brand new library building. Busy years were ahead for those involved.
As the County faced financial shortfalls, outside funding was essential. Fortuitously, Jefferson Area Board for Aging was also seeking a larger facility in Greene County to provide expanded services, and a fundraising partnership was formed consisting of the Greene County Library and JABA. Many individuals contributed time and effort during this early phase to raise awareness and begin the fundraising activities that included a book sale, a children’s poster contest, and donation boxes made by the County Technical Education Center for placement in local businesses. A gift of $10,000 from the Regional Friends of the Library enabled the commission of preliminary architectural drawings of the joint facility by Glenn Reynolds of Blacksburg, Virginia. The cooperative aspect of the project appealed to state legislators, the Perry Foundation, and the Greene County Board of Supervisors with all of these providing significant funding. Later fundraising efforts continued to show community involvement including a benefit concert by local high school musicians, a swim-a-thon put on by a local swim team, and a commemorative brick campaign. All the hard work made the goal begin to seem real at last with the official ground breaking for the new library/senior center building on December 13, 2001.
The Future is Here!
Construction on the new building continued through 2002, with the only major setback being a windstorm in the spring of 2002, during which the metal superstructure of the second floor blew down. By the cold winter of 2003 most of the building work was interior, but there still was no parking lot and the severe weather caused delays. However, by the spring construction began to draw to a close and on May 20, 2003 the library in its old location closed its doors for the last time, and the big move to the new building commenced. As with previous moves, there was a large component of community support. While the library had hired movers to pack and transport the books, once the unpacking by staff and volunteers began, as had been done before, all the books were back on the shelves in just one day. Volunteers from the community hung pictures and signage in the new branch, and shelf-read the entire collection in the new building. Getting the phone and computer lines working took a bit longer but finally, the long awaited day arrived. On June 3, 2003, the library opened its doors to the public in the brand new building at 222 Main St. in downtown Stanardsville. Record crowds in the library heralded a very busy summer, as residents of Greene began to find the library in its new location, and the summer reading program got under way. Enthusiasm was overflowing on June 28 as the community celebrated with dedication ceremonies for the new building.
The new space is a leap forward for Greene County with a bottom floor combining the new library and JABA Senior Center and Adult Daycare facilities. Library space has been quintupled to 8,000 square feet - lots of room for a growing collection. Completely accessible now, the new branch includes staff workspace, a community meeting room, and a reading garden. Space and plenty of seating combined with a warm ambiance resulting from special touches like a large mural of exotic animals in the children’s area, and warm walnut furniture and end panels, make this a very pleasant place in which to spend time studying, reading, or just browsing. In 2007 hours were expanded to be open 40 hours a week and the increase in staff has enabled the library to have new reading clubs for middle school and young adult readers.
