Our Facilities
The Eugenia H. Young Memorial Library moved to 104 Howie Drive in Shelby in 1971. Thanks to the efforts of the state, county, and city governments, and most especially the generous contribution of the citizens of Cleveland County, in 1990 the library was able to dramatically expand our facility and our services. Today, Eugenia H. Young Memorial Library’s 27,000 square feet includes a dedicated children’s library with space for play and programs, three meeting rooms, 27 public computers, a genealogy and local history room, and approximately 190,000 books, ebooks, audiobooks, videos, and other materials available for public circulation.
Meeting Spaces
Martha R. Plaster Meeting Room
The library’s largest meeting space was made possible by the generous donations of Cleveland County citizens in honor of Martha R. “Brownie” Plaster. She was the chair of the Board of Trustees and a leader in the library campaign. With a capacity of 100 people, the Plaster Meeting Room includes a full kitchen, drop-down projection screen, whiteboard, lectern with PA, and upright piano. Patrons also have access to chairs and easy-to-move folding tables, allowing the room to be arranged as needed for each individual event. Audio-visual equipment including a projector is available upon request.
Made possible by donations from Ina Rufus Stutts in memory of Clyde L. and Rufus Edwards Stutts, and by Grace and Rush Hamrick, Jr, the Hamrick-Stutts Conference Room is perfect for smaller gatherings. The Hamrick-Stutts Conference Room seats 10, and includes a drop-down projection screen and whiteboard. Audio-visual equipment, including a projector, is available upon request.
Ray Webb Lutz Conference Room
Honoring Mr. Lutz’ decades of civic contributions to Cleveland County, the Lutz Conference Room seats up to 15 people, and includes a whiteboard/projection screen. Audio-visual equipment, including a projector is available upon request.
Hamrick-Stutts Small Conference Room
Made possible by donations from Ina Rufus Stutts in memory of Clyde L. and Rufus Edwards Stutts, and by Grace and Rush Hamrick, Jr, the Hamrick-Stutts Conference Room is perfect for smaller gatherings. The Hamrick-Stutts Conference Room seats 10, and includes a drop-down projection screen and whiteboard. Audio-visual equipment, including a projector, is available upon request.
Computers
The library is pleased to be able to offer four private, individual computer rooms for our patrons’ use. Each room features upgraded desktop computers running Chrome OS, with built-in webcam and internet access. Private computer rooms can be reserved for one to three hour blocks during the library’s normal hours of operation. Library members can check out room keys at the circulation desk, while guests are asked to leave either their ID or keys with the circulation desk in order to use the private rooms.
Eugenia H. Young Memorial Library has 23 public computers available for the use of members and guests. Arranged in carrels of four computers each, the computers are available to the public during the library’s normal hours of operation. Users have access for up to three hours each day. Members use their library card number and individual pin to log in, while guests should come to the circulation desk to be issued a visitor’s pass for the day. Every computer includes internet access as well as a built-in webcam. Additionally, users have access to a vast array of resources through the library’s website and the NC Live database system. Furthermore, every computer is connected to the public print station, allowing patrons to print in both black and white and color.
Genealogy & Local History
The library maintains a large collection of local history and genealogy resources. This special reference collection is only available to the public in the library during normal operating hours. The collection includes family histories, maps, city directories, yearbooks, and a variety of materials on microfilm. Additionally, Eugenia H. Young Memorial Library is the official repository for back-issues of the Shelby Star daily newspaper from 1900 – present available on microfilm. The computer station in the genealogy room includes access to FreeAncestry.com as well as all the other resources available on our public computers, and also serves as the microfilm reader screen, allowing patrons to clip, save, and/or print directly from the screen to the dedicated genealogy print station. Members can check out the key to the Genealogy and Local History Room at the circulation desk, while guests will need to leave their ID or keys with the desk in order to use the room.