The High Point Public Library turns 100 on Nov. 11. A free celebration with a ribbon-cutting runs 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, and Kristy Woodson Harvey visits Nov. 13.

The High Point Public Library turns 100 on Wednesday, Nov. 11. It throws its birthday party early, from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday at the main library, 901 N. Main St.

The free celebration opens with a ribbon-cutting at 2 p.m., according to the library’s centennial page. The library says there will be:

  • refreshments and live music
  • activities for all ages
  • booths from community groups that are long-standing partners of the library
  • the raffle drawing for the Coffee + Books stamp cards collected at local coffee shops from August through October

Events take place in the lobby, the Morgan Community Room and the Children’s Story Room, according to the city’s event listing.

Early closing Friday

The library closes at 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, for a 100th anniversary event, the city announced on Oct. 30. The notice gives no other detail about that event.

The library is closed again on Wednesday, Nov. 11, the anniversary itself, for Veterans Day. Our Veterans Day page lists what else is open and closed that day.

The rest of the centennial program

When What Where
7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13 An Evening with Kristy Woodson Harvey, in conversation with Laura Beth Vietor High Point Theatre, 220 E. Commerce Ave.
11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 14 Local Author Showcase Library lobby
2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 15 2026 Bookmark Design Contest reception for student artists Library Story Room
Through Dec. 31 Telling the Library’s Centennial Story exhibit High Point Museum

Harvey is the bestselling author of 13 novels, including the Peachtree Bluff series, the library says. Tickets for her evening are free but required, with a limit of four a person. They are issued through the High Point Theatre’s Etix page, which also offers her latest book, “Falling for Peachtree Bluff,” as an optional add-on. Bookmarks of Winston-Salem handles book sales. The Friends of the High Point Public Library support the event.

The online countdown, 100 Ways to Use Your Library, runs through Nov. 14. The library’s 100 Stories project has received 100 stories from residents, and its form stays open through November.

How the library began

The High Point Woman’s Club led the effort to set up a lending library for the city, according to the library’s own history timeline, The Early Years. That work led to the first permanent library at 411 S. Main St., which was dedicated April 4, 1954.

Service to the Washington Street neighborhood began in 1934 with a small facility on the campus of William Penn High School. A dedicated building at Washington and Fourth streets opened in 1958, according to the library’s Washington Street timeline. Our Washington Street neighborhood guide has more on the district.

The library warns that some of the historical material in its timelines contains racist or gendered language. It says it includes that language for historical context.

What it means for you

  • Go to the party: 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, at 901 N. Main St. It is free. Be there at 2 p.m. for the ribbon-cutting.
  • Plan around the closings: the library shuts at 5 p.m. Friday and is closed all day Wednesday, Nov. 11.
  • Want to see Kristy Woodson Harvey? Book free tickets now. Each person can take up to four.
  • Have a library memory? Add it to the 100 Stories project through November.
  • Questions: call the library at 336-883-3660 or email the centennial team at highpointpl100years@gmail.com.

More November events are on our things to do this month page.