ABOUT INA PULLEN SMALLWOOD MEMORIAL LIBRARY

Since the late 1940s, Ina Pullen Smallwood Memorial Library has been an integral part of Chickasaw.

In the fall of 1947, The Chickasaw Study Club formed a library primarily for the children of the community. The city officials gave the use of a small room in the Chickasaw Recreation Center. Books were collected by means of a book drive and on February 8, 1948, the City saw the formal opening of the library. 

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By 1952, the room provided for the library became too small, so the City remodeled another room in the Recreation Center for library use. But the library wasn't done growing. In 1957, an additional room was provided. When the Recreation Center underwent a period of construction (with providing more space for the library in mind), the library was temporarily moved but forced to move again when rain water kept entering the building. The second move found the library at the business block at the rear of the stores fronting the highway.

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Even after construction, it became clear within a few years that the library was outgrowing the space. The 1970s consisted of the City pursuing ideas of enlarging the library. Work began in September of 1975 and the library was once again temporarily moved for a 15 month stay in the larger room of the Civic Center complex. The Open House ceremony took place in April 1977.

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Our story certainly does not end there, nor does the library's growth. Our mission is to strengthen our community through literacy and lifelong learning by providing equal access to materials for everyone. We’re not only a place to come and read - we’re a center for discovery, creativity, and empowerment.

With our growing collection of digital media, we’re helping to engage with a new generation of learners and establishing the foundations to bring people, ideas, and information together into the future.