Our Mission:

Upon her death in 1938, Mrs. Lucy Wortham James gifted the City of St. James with a generous donation of $700 per year to pay for the support of the St. James Public Library so that the citizens of the town would not have to pay a library tax.  Under the direction of the James Foundation over the next 60 years, this donation would grow to become the primary source of funding for the library.  After the construction of a new building in 1953, the St. James Public Library was renamed Lucy Wortham James Memorial Library.  

 

On May 1, 2013, the James Foundation gifted the City of St. James with the Memorial Library and all of its contents, as well as a stipend for first year expenses.  City officials appointed a Library Board, comprised of nine members, who set about finding permanent funding and improving day to day operations at the library.  The Library is still operating under the direction of the City, following the advisory guidelines created by the Board.  Due to the hard work and diligence of our Library Board, Friends of the Library and many dedicated volunteers, the library is now supported by a city property tax.

If you live in the city limits of St. James and would like to serve our community in a meaningful way, please consider serving on the library’s Board of Trustees.  Interested parties should contact Library Board President Linda Bland at lb1322@gmail.com, or Library Staff for further information about the James Memorial Public Library Board.

​

The image above is of Mrs. Lucy Wortham James, as depicted in a pencil drawing done by renowned American artist John Singer Sargent.  The original portrait hangs in the library, in a place of honor above the fireplace.