PROCTORVILLE
It's not just the library in this Robeson County town that seems to be on the scale of a miniature train set.
Nearly all the buildings are tiny, from the old town hall to the post office.
But the little library has earned a rare distinction. This fall, the W.R. Surles Memorial Library -- rumored to have once been named the world's smallest in the Guinness Book of World Records -- received a listing in the National Register of Historic Places.
The distinction was such big news that about 175 people attended a Nov. 15 special celebration. The town's population is just 130 people.
Despite the library's size -- less than 500 square feet -- it stands as a prominent landmark in this rural community 12 miles south of Lumberton. The colonial brick building with a white dome and columns was built in 1951, replacing a former library that originally was a hot dog stand. On its small oak shelves, one can find a yellowed six-book collection of Shakespeare, a copy of Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking or the latest best-seller from North Carolina writer Nicholas Sparks.
Rose Oliver, the secretary of the town's R.C. Lawrence Book Club, said she spent four to five years trying to earn the historic distinction for the library.
"It is so very unique," she said, "and we wanted to leave a legacy."
Oliver serves as the keeper of the library and the book club, which dates back to 1939. Back then, it was believed that Proctorville was the smallest town in the U.S. with a public library.
Now, no one in town can say they actually saw the library once listed in the Guinness book. Rather, they say, that's what they've heard.
"Supposed to be one of the smallest and oldest libraries," said Lee Hunt, 22, a Proctorville native.
Generations ago, Proctorville was a thriving community. It was home to a railroad center, a community building, the Bank of Proctorville, filling stations, general stores, a movie theater and a cotton gin.
Today, many of the town's roads have dead ends. The train tracks that once ran by the depot were pulled up long ago. That abandoned depot, larger than most buildings in town, still sits there.
"I'm the only business, technically, in Proctorville," said Amy Inman, the postmaster.
So the W.R. Surles Memorial Library holds a special place in many people's hearts. Librarian Betty Bruton's wooden desk stands in one corner of the building, which has a sweet mustiness of nostalgia. Portraits of Robert Corbelle Lawrence, for whom the book club is named, and W.R. Surles grace the wall.
To the best of Oliver's knowledge, the library has about 2,765 books.
"Throughout the many years I've been coming to this library," she said, "I can always find a book to read."
People can check them out for two weeks at a time, when the library is open for a few hours each Tuesday and Thursday.
The books are filed in sections as novels, mysteries, religious books, large-print books and children's books.
The library doesn't maintain a record of its collection, and the books are not categorized alphabetically on shelves.
There's no Dewey Decimal system or computer database.
From time to time, club members buy new books and donate them to the library.
Oliver and Lawson-Johnson seem to think that Nicholas Sparks' 2009 novel, The Last Song, was the last book added to the collection.
The novels by Sparks, of New Bern, are the most popular with the locals.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement