Baxter Patrick James Island groundbreaking ceremony
Friday, September 29, 2017

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston County Public Library (CCPL) and Charleston County Government officials kicked off the construction of the Baxter Patrick James Island Library during a groundbreaking ceremony on Sept. 29. The 20,000-square foot facility will be located on the corner of Nathaniel Drive and South Grimball Road on James Island.

The new library will include:

Adult, children and teen areas
An auditorium that can be divided into two meeting rooms (100-person capacity)
A meeting room/makerspace for do-it-yourself (DIY) projects (25-person capacity)
Small group study rooms
Outdoor areas
Learning Lab (Computer Instruction Room)

The library branch is named in remembrance of the old Baxter Patrick Elementary School that was located where the new library will be constructed. The school was named after retired school principals, Nan C. Baxter, who died Sept 2, 1966, and Anna S. Patrick, who died June 10, 1973. According to Grimball Road residents, Mrs. Baxter and Mrs. Patrick were the first African-American school teachers on James Island.

The facility is expected to open in late 2018. Local residents approved a referendum to build five new libraries, and renovate or upgrade 13 others in November 2014. The first phase of the overall project was designed to solicit community input for the five new library locations. One of CCPL’s top priorities during this process involved obtaining practical information from public library users. The Cummings and McCrady architectural firm presented their design of the new James Island branch during a community meeting in March 2017. Click here to see the design

Visit www.ccpl.org/construction for monthly status updates and to view updated branch designs presented during past community meetings.