Over One Hundred and Still Progressing:
A Library for the Twenty First Century
 The
contemporary glass-walled building on the busy corner of Hampton
and Assembly Streets in Columbia, South Carolina appears to
be an upscale hotel or office building. People from all walks
of life scurry in and out the entry. Inside there is continuous
movement of children and adults walking across the levels,
going up and down the escalators, and stopping to talk. Alone
and in groups, they cluster around computers and tables. Only
then does one notice that they all seem to be carrying books-for
this hub of activity is a Public Library.
This library, modern as it is, has a long heritage. Colonial
South Carolina passed the first public library law in 1700.
The Charleston Library Society formed 45 years later in the
colonial capital was one of the first in the North American
colonies. After the American Revolution, the new state of
South Carolina moved the seat of government from Charleston
in 1786 to the newly laid-out, more centrally located village
of Columbia. By 1805, the Columbia Library Society flourished
and petitioned the General Assembly for permission to make
decisions without a quorum, as many members lived too far
away to attend all the evening meetings. Twenty years later,
the capital supported three libraries, all with reading rooms.
These libraries, as well as their successors, charged nominal
fees for the privilege of borrowing books, but anyone could
enjoy reading selections from the collections in the public
rooms.
Colonel William C. Preston, former college president and
senator, sponsored the capital’s most prominent antebellum
library, the Columbia Athenaeum. Donating his own collection
of 1,600 books, Col. Preston also wanted the Columbia Athenaeum
to be a meeting and discussion center for city leaders. Located
on the Southeast corner of Richardson (now Main) and Washington
Streets, the Athenaeum supported extensive collections of
art and books and sponsored entertaining speakers in the adjacent
lecture hall. Many a contemporary journal and letter mentioned
delightful, stimulating evenings spent at the Athenaeum. One
paid a $100 initiation fee and then $5 per year to be a member.
Unfortunately, this lively library was undone by its own treasurer,
a “slick duck” according to a contemporary account,
who absconded with the funds in 1859. Six years later, General
Sherman and his troops completed its demise. On February 17,
1865, the fire that followed the Union Army’s plundering
totally destroyed the Athenaeum.
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