Yancey County Public Library

Yancey County Library is located in the historic YCI Administrative building at 321 School Circle in Burnsville, North Carolina. The historic library has picturesque views of the beautiful mountains from its upstairs community room and is the only library in the regional system to house an art gallery- The Herring-Kivette Art Gallery. To learn more about Yancey County, visit Yancey County Chamber of Commerce or Explore Burnsville.

Yancey County library service began in the 1930’s, thanks to the work of Ms. Martha Robinson. The Markel Handicraft School contained a circulating library which served a 25-mile radius from the Higgins Neighborhood Center. The school was named for John Markle, a philanthropist and cousin of Ms. Robinson who began the Presbyterian Mission project in 1918.

In 1933, Rose LeFevre, president of the Women’s Club of Burnsville, established the first public library in Yancey County. The Library was located in an upstairs room of the Club House (now an apartment building on North Main), and most of the books were given from individual collections. Rose LeFevre succeeded in getting the county to contribute funds specifically for the library for the first time; thereby making the library eligible to receive assistance from the North Carolina State Library Commission in 1945.

In 1946, the library was moved to the Briggs Building (where The Grapevine store is located) and later moved in 1961 to the basement of the building now occupied by Players Sports. The library then moved to the Ray/Cort building that now houses the Lloyd Bailey Annex. In 1975, the Yancey Library moved to the renovated Northwestern Bank building — given to the county by the bank to use for a library — where it remained until July 2011. Services throughout the early years were enhanced by the purchase of a bookmobile that was driven primarily by Ms. Dorothy Thomas of the Celo Community. Ms. Dorothy, as she was called, was instrumental to bringing the 3 counties together to form the AMY Regional Library System.

In 2011, the library location moved to the Yancey Collegiate Institute Historic District where it remains now. To learn more about the Public Library Expansion Project, visit Yancey County Public Library and to learn more about the historic district, please read Yancey Collegiate Institute and Other Miracles on Baptist Hill by J. Todd Bailey.

See the 2017 Yancey County State of the County’s Health Report.

Yancey County Local Board Members

Jody Higgins**– Chair  

Jeannette Maddox** 

Alan Larkins 

Gail Parker 

Julia Silvers 

Susie Buchanan  

Beryl Carroll 

Constitution and By-Laws of the Yancey County Public Library