Gainsboro Public Library

<p>After years of petitioning by Black residents of Gainsboro the city of Roanoke constructed the Gainsboro Public Library from 1941 to 1942. The library had been in operation since 1921—the collections held in one room of the “Colored International Order of Odd Fellows Hall.” Under the stewardship of librarian Virginia Young Lee the collection outgrew its space, and it became necessary for the city to construct an actual library. Lee amassed a large collection of books and journals about Black History, sometimes hiding it in the library basement when city leaders asked her to remove her displays. Many Black residents of Gainsboro held fond recollections of visiting the library and taking part in its programs. While the building survived urban renewal projects of the 1950s and 1960s, many of its patrons were forced to relocate, and so the number of registered cardholders began to decline. In 1996 the Gainsboro Public Library was put on the National Register of Historic Places.</p>