I'd like to check out a book, please ~ by Kristine Raymond

Library in 1885

And, you can, at the Copper Queen Library in Bisbee, AZ.  Established in 1882, the Copper Queen is America's oldest operating library, but that doesn't mean it's behind the times.  In 2019, the 137-year-old athenaeum was awarded the honor of best small library in America by the leading publication for bibliophiles for expanding its early literacy program, developing a seed library for gardeners, offering unconventional items, like sports equipment, for checkout, and providing Wi-Fi internet hot spots.  It's the first library in Arizona to receive the prize.

Its history is an interesting one.  Originally opened inside the mine's company store after, according to one popular legend, mining officials arrived in Bisbee to find a man hung by a lynch mob, the consensus was that the miners needed something to occupy their time.  With a donation of 400 books from back East, the library was born.  Its location moved several times over the decades, first in 1885 to a two-story wood-framed structure, then after a fire in 1892 left the building and books in ashes, a brick building was erected and the library reestablished.

It moved to its current location above the Bisbee Post Office in 1907 and, even today, serves as a gathering place for locals.  In fact, some of the furniture from that time is still in use, though the brass spittoons are a thing of the past.

Copper Queen Library - circa 1907

Copper Queen Library - circa 2016

Roughly 3000 of the 5,500 residents of Bisbee carry library cards and an annex was added last December to serve the nearly 150 families residing in the nearby border town of Naco.











Now, where did I put my library card?