How it all began…
Barbara Allred
,Where did we come from?
In 2014, Barbara Allred, a member of the Sandhills Regional LIbrary Advisory Board, compared Aberdeen’s library to others in the Sandhills Region, and noted that the Page Memorial Library was grossly inadequate. She went to the Town Board and expressed the need for a new library for Aberdeen’s residents. The Town Board advised her to form a committee and build a case for the Town Board to consider.
Hence, the Friends of the Aberdeen Library (FOAL) was born. Ken Byrd, who was then on the Planning Board, and later a Commissioner, took note and offered to help, becoming the first president of the group. Together they called a meeting of interested citizens and the process began. They contacted other libraries in the county, formed a non-profit corporation, and set a goal of acquiring property and building a new modern library. They sought endorsements and the support of our state legislators and began a series of fundraising projects.
In 2018, with the funds raised and a grant from the NC Department of Cultural Resources we purchased property near the Aberdeen business district and removed an old house.
In May of 2021, we made another appeal to the Board of Commissioners to begin a capital project. However, the town was not interested in building a new library so FOAL regrouped to determine a new strategy. The FOAL Board decided to seek a building that could be renovated to become the new library and marketed the idea to residents and the Town Commissioners. That marketing effort, along with publicity, led to the town offering an historic building for the purpose in the fall of 2022. The building, located at 123 Exchange Street, was a 1912 warehouse constructed originally as the Aberdeen Wholesale Grocery Company. It had been used for various purposes over many decades and currently housed Railside Antiques. The town also offered seed money in the amount of $200,000, which would go toward bringing the building up to code standards. The FOAL Board accepted the offer and In January 2023 began a capital campaign to raise $1,000,000 for the complete renovation, interior furnishings, and landscaping of the property. The funds were raised over the next thirty-five months, with the renovation complete in January 2026. A grand opening of the new Aberdeen Public Library occurred on February 4, 2026.
With the library situated in the historic building, FOAL still held a nearly one-acre lot directly across the street from the new library. Additional funds were raised for the implementation of a plan for a ‘Library Green’ (completed in June 2025) and a ‘Reading Garden’ (completed in June 2026). Benches with shrubs and trees, a water feature, a pergola and a sculpture by Mike Roic of Carrboro, NC will all be added. The new park is now a place for reflection and a gathering place for enjoying nature and reading. FOAL is hopeful that the town will accept the deed for this park and care for the property in perpetuity.
This sector of the Historic District of Aberdeen now has ‘a sense of place’ for Aberdeen residents. It has a 21st century library, an art gallery adjacent to the library (Artist’s League of the Sandhills), a green space (Library Green), a passive park (Reading Garden), and a kids’ playground adjacent to the park area with a picnic shelter and restrooms.
The immediate activity at the library and the other assets mentioned has clearly demonstrated the need for and desire by Aberdeen’s residents for the new resources. So we all owe a heartfelt THANK YOU to Barbara Allred for beginning the journey and to the many FOAL Board members and general members who sustained their energy and passion for 14 years. By doing so, they provided an outstanding and resourceful community asset for current and future residents of Aberdeen to enjoy and reap the benefits!
