Southern Pines Public Library

Pamela Austin

Have to be a resident of SOUTHERN PINES , not Moore county but the town itself to rent books or use the computer .. and if you do use the ONE computer they have set up for non residents, after 10/15 min of use you have to pay 10$ .

Brittany Morgan

For a community resource that prides itself on its accessibility, it is an incredibly restrictive library. There is a “free” story time on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This used to be open to the public, but they’ve recently implemented a change that requires a library card for story times. If you’re a SoPi resident, cards are free. If you’re not, cards range from $20 (a limited card) to $120 a year. There is no online application for a card, so if you work outside of the home you have limited hours to go and sign up for a card. I am a nanny, and my boss signed up her daughter for a limited card to allow her access to story time ($20). Despite going to these story times regularly for the last four months, we were denied access this week because we didn’t physically have a library card with us. Apparently there is no way to look up an account based on books returned, and attending regularly holds no weight. It’s clear the library cares more about their bottom dollar than providing resources and activities to the community. Even when we’ve paid for them, we’re still not allowed to attend them. I would recommend Pinehurst’s library for their story time, as it is free and far less crowded.

Marissa C

Updated, Summer 2022: Out of the pandemic (the excuse which was given initially) and my children are still being made to feel unwelcome in this library. We attempted to attend a storytime. I came in with my 2 year old and 3 month old. They made sure to tell me how they really shouldn’t be allowing me into their Tuesday program because it’s 0-2 years. My assumption was “0-2” meant up until they turn 3. Well, I, and many others assumed wrong and were turned away this morning. My son is only 2 months past his 2nd birthday… to hold fast to such silly rules is detrimental to your community model, SPPL, and truly needs to be assessed. Summer 2020: We are new to the area, and I find myself really disappointed in our experiences with the library so far. We’ve been asked to leave as we were picking out books- we were reading through a book at that time. I’m not sure what we were doing wrong, but, the woman said, “This is not really meant for that.” A book is not meant for reading? Or a library is not meant for sitting in? I’m still unsure. Today, we arrived 7 min before closing. I hadn’t realized the closing time, but instead of being encouraged to choose books quickly, we were discouraged from even coming inside!! I have 3 young children; you would think a public library (in the digital age), funded entirely by the city and its citizens, the librarians would be a little more eager to inspire reading and library exploration...

David Simm “David Simm Photography”

Delghtfully helpful, I am 850 miles away from home, I needed to file an IRS form 4868 to request a filing extension. Although my stay in N. Carolina is temporary, it will keep me away from my Chicagoland home, well past 15th April filing date. The lovely folks at Southern Pines Public Library, found and printed out the form for me. I was able to get my extension organised.