March 14, 1935. In a small room above a store in downtown Manteo, the library opened its doors to the public with 14 books donated by the Manteo Woman's Club. It was run by volunteers; among them were Zenovah Etheridge, Rosa Drinkwater, Rennie Griffin Williamson, and Hazel Midgett.

The idea caught on and more donations came in from many sources, including out of state visitors, and further contributions by the Manteo Woman's Club. Seven and a half months later the number of volumes was 1,000!

By 1940, the books numbered 2,600. During that year the W.P.A. constructed and gave a community building to the town of Manteo, and the library was relocated there in 1941. (This building still stands at the northeast corner of Budleigh Street and North Main Highway).

Late in 1940, an ambitious project was started"traveling libraries" – the forerunner of a modern bookmobile. These “traveling libraries" – cases built to hold 25 books each – were to become a valuable part of library services in the war years that followed.

In 1941, Georgia Harwood was the new librarian, salaried by the W.P.A., and the “traveling libraries" came into their own. Used primarily to reach those stationed on the Outer Banks, Coast Guard truck, U.S. Mail vehicles and private cars transported the books. This oddly assorted caravan had to travel for miles along unpaved sandy roads, eventually to be ferried across the often-turbulent waters of Oregon Inlet. The inventory had now increased to 4,120 books, but this meant that there was an average of just one-half book per person.

The library was declared a war project, sharing its quarters with a U.S.O. unit, and received additional funding from government sources. Working 84 hours a week – open 7 days for 12 hours a day – these two services filled a real need for men who were geographically isolated and lacked recreational facilities.

After the war, the library continued to grow. In 1950, the first bookmobile was purchased – a green Willys Jeep converted for this purpose began making regularly scheduled runs. As there were then no bridges from the mainland or to the Outer Banks, all trips involved ferries. Georgia Harwood retired in 1956, succeeded by Jean Turner Ward, who served as librarian for the next fifteen years.

By 1960, nearly 19,000 books were crowded into space barely adequate for half that number. Around this time, Dare County Library became part of the East Albemarle Regional Library System – meaning that two or three times the number of volumes would be available through a mutual sharing agreement with Pasquotank-Camden and Currituck libraries. In 1963 a building site was found and in 1964 land was purchased for a larger library. While the Federal Library Construction Act would provide 55% of the funds, the other 45% had to be acquired locally. Door-to-door campaigns, dances, benefit bridge parties, fashion shows, the establishment of a memorial fund – all contributed to the effort. Another campaign started to purchase new furnishings and equipment for the new library. The new Dare County Library was dedicated on Sunday, April 27, 1969.

The original blueprints called for a multi-purpose section to the new library, but funding did not allow for it, so it was back to fundraising once again. In 1971, the two-room annex was completed, providing space for meetings, story hours, exhibits and many more functions. In 1975, a new bookmobile, “the Condensed Version" was purchased. The Hatteras Community Library became a branch of the Dare County Library in 1977, with Yancy Foster as the branch librarian.

On March 7, 1982, “Karen's Corner", located in the Manteo Library was dedicated to the memory of Karen Holton, and contains easy books for beginning readers. This area was built and furnished by contributions to the Holton Memorial Fund. In 1985 a new edition of “The Condensed Version" was purchased, fully air-conditioned, much to the delight of all.

As the population grew, so did the Dare County Library. Land was acquired in Kill Devil Hills, and in February of 1990, the Kill Devil Hills Library opened its doors. In July of 1991, the bookmobile was discontinued, but a van was purchased to continue the “outreach" program servicing shut-ins. In early 1995, the libraries were running on a computerized circulation system.

In December 2002, the Dare County Library Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit was incorporated. In 2005, a second generation library website went live with enhanced content such as book jackets and book reviews. In 2006, our computer network was modernized with DSL, and later, Ethernet. Courier service was increased between larger libraries from twice a week to three times a week. In 2008, The Dare County Library Foundation sponsored a “Winter Enrichment Series" of adult humanities programs at all three libraries. On May 29, 2008 a completely renovated and expanded Hatteras Library opened to the public.

In June of 2012, our Regional Library System began lending eBooks to our customers. Initial collection and platform fees were paid for with funds from the respective Library Foundations.

Although many things have almost 80 years later, the Dare County Library still exists to meet the informational, educational and recreational interests of our many users.