Our Mission

We are renovating a historic building and creating a community resource center/library to serve Aberdeen and surrounding residents for decades to come.

Our Story

The Friends of the Aberdeen Library was formed in 2014 after Barbara Allred, a lifelong member of the community, noticed that the current Aberdeen library was inadequate for the growing needs of the town.

Built over a century ago, the Page Memorial Library is the second oldest continuous-use library in the state. With that time, however, the current library has struggled to meet the needs of the growing local community. With a group of interested citizens, she formed a grassroots, non-profit organization, sought out local endorsements, and began fundraising to build a new, modern library.

In early 2022, we were offered the warehouse that sits at 123 Exchange Street. Built in 1912, it needs renovations to bring it up to current code standards, and the Town of Aberdeen budgeted some money to jumpstart the effort. We have also purchased an empty lot across the street from the building, which we plan to develop into a reading garden, complete with benches and a gazebo.

Our long-term goal is to create a cultural complex, with the new library and reading garden close to the Artist’s League of the Sandhills and a public playground with a picnic shelter and restrooms. This will be a valuable area for the community, and will continue the tradition of literacy that the current Aberdeen library has built over the last century.

Read our organization’s by-laws here.

Read the minutes from FOAL Board Meeting on February 27, 2025 here.

Endorsements

We’re thankful to have the support of several local organizations and government entities, including the Sandhills Regional Library System, the Moore County Superintendent of Education, the Town of Aberdeen, and Aberdeen’s Board of Commissioners.

 FAQs

  • We are working with the Town of Aberdeen - Mayor, Commissioners, and Town Manager - to keep Page Memorial Library as a part of the Sandhills Regional Library System.

    The intent is to preserve the building as a historical library, with a repository for archival documents and information about Aberdeen and its founding families.

  • The building and furnishings are owned and maintained by the Town of Aberdeen. The books will be provided by the Sandhills Regional Library System, an affiliate of NC State Libraries. The staff will be Moore County employees, paid by the county. Our organization will supplement this system with financial assistance and volunteering.

  • Yes, all contributions are tax-deductible! We are a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.

    If you make a donation, you will receive a letter shortly after with our thanks and our tax ID, which you can use when filing your taxes.

  • Our goal is to have the library ready by Spring 2025, but this is dependent on many factors, the first of which is how quickly we can raise money to renovate the building at 123 Exchange Street.

    This 4,000 sq. ft. building was given to us by the Town of Aberdeen. It has great “bones,” but requires a great deal of “re-fitting” to serve our needs.

    Our organization and the Town have formed a partnership to accomplish this.