The Mobile Public Library has roots going back to the 1850s, when it was started as a subscription organization by the Franklin Society. The library was officially established as the Mobile Public Library in 1902 and was originally housed in an antebellum structure at the corner of Conti and Hamilton Street. The library association appealed to city leaders in the late 1910s to provide operating funds for the library, and it offered to give the city the library property if it would build a new building to house the collections. The city declined to finance the construction of a new building, but did approve operating funds on 2 April 1918. Due to increasing public demand for a library, on 15 December 1925, the city commissioners voted to schedule a special election on a $250,000 bond issue. The voters approved the bond and, along with a gift of $30,000 from Eli H. Bernheim of New York City, the new library building was constructed. Noted Mobile architect George Bigelow Rogers designed the building in the Classical Revival style. The new structure, now known as the Ben May Main Library, was opened on 15 September 1928. The state had passed racial segregation laws at the turn of the century after disenfranchising most blacks and many poor whites in the state, excluding them from politics. Mobile's African-American community did not have access to a public library until one was completed for them in 1931; it was known as the Davis Avenue Branch. It was also designed by George Bigelow Rogers. It was funded by a city bond issue and the city's sale of the old library property on Conti Street. The Ben May Main Library building is a contributing building to the Church Street East Historic District, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on 16 December 1971. The system opened a new branch, the West Regional Branch, in 2002, with First LadyLaura Bush making an address. Beginning in 2006, the Ben May Main Library building was restored and expanded by. It was reopened on 31 May 2007.
Services
In addition to basic services, participation in several interlibrary loan systems, and internet access at all locations, the Mobile Public Library provides a range of other services. Free library cards are made available to all residents in the Alabama counties of Mobile, Baldwin, Washington, Clarke, Monroe, Escambia and Conecuh. Alabama Virtual Library cards are also made available for free at all branches.
Local history and genealogy
The Local History and Genealogy Division includes works by local authors, Mobile histories, periodicals, Mobile newspapers on microfilm from 1819 to the present, city directories from 1837 onward, federal census records for most of the Southeastern United States, the Mobile Historic Development Commission's survey of historic architecture in Mobile with 10,000 images stored and indexed on CD-ROM, 10 cabinets of paper files and newspaper clippings on local subjects and the Memory Studio containing equipment used for media format conversions.
Youth services
This department attempts to meet the needs and interests of children and young adults through the various library collections, services and programs. Books, movie DVDs and VHS, music CDs, audiobooks, back issues of magazines, and video games are available to be checked out. Story time for young children is provided at most library locations.
Disabilities
All branches provide handicapped access, materials, and services for patrons with disabilities. A few of the services provided are magnifying glasses, large type books, closed captioned videos, books for and about the handicapped, and instructional books and videos on sign language. In addition, recorded books on discs and cassettes and the equipment for using them are available on free loan to eligible individuals from the Alabama Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped in Montgomery, Alabama.
Bookmobile
The library operates a bookmobile three days a week at over 30 different stops across Mobile County. Each location is visited every three weeks.
Locations
The system consists of the Ben May Main Library, nine other locations and a Bookmobile.
