100 Years in the Making: Five Forks & Greer Branches

Groundbreaking ceremony, Five Forks Branch

Opening of the Five Forks Branch

In 1993, the Greenville County Council approved an ordinance to replace nine existing library branches, replace the main library in downtown Greenville, and construct a new library for Woodruff Road. In 2004, the Greenville County Planning Commission identified the Five Forks/Woodruff Road area as having a high need for a library branch.

A plot of land at the intersection of Sunnydale Drive and Woodruff Road was purchased in 2013. When its doors opened on Sunday, March 25, 2018, Greenville County Library System’s Five Forks Branch became the second largest Library facility in Greenville County encompassing approximately 28,000 square feet. More than twice the size of the other branch libraries, the branch features a drive-through window, a kiosk that dispenses laptops, a secure outside Play Porch for kids, and a variety of meeting and collaboration spaces for groups large and small.

Children's Area, Five Forks Branch

Branch Honored

On September 3, 2019, Greenville County Library System’s Five Forks Branch was honored by the American Library Association in their 2019 Library Design Showcase featuring “the year’s most impressive new and renovated libraries.” The Branch was one of thirteen libraries nationwide that were recognized for “innovative architecture” that meets the needs of the community in “unique, interesting, and effective ways.”

Architecture firm for the project was McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture, LLC, Greenville, SC and the General Contractor was Melloul-Blamey Construction SC Ltd., Greenville, SC.

Expansion & Renovation of the Jean M. Smith Branch in Greer

Teen Room, Greer Branch

Founded in the fall of 1925, the Greer Library was the first Library branch in the county. In 1938, it also became the first to erect its own building, the Davenport Memorial Library on School Street. Its downstairs meeting room provided a place for local clubs to meet, including the USO during World War II. This room later became the branch children's room as the material collection and activities grew. In September 1995, a new branch library was constructed to replace the Davenport building.

By August of 2019, Greer’s population had grown nearly two and half times what it had been when the Library’s branch opened in 1995, and the branch closed to undergo an expansion and renovation in order to better accommodate the needs of the community. Reopened on November 10, 2019 with interior renovations and a 5,500 square foot expansion of the facility, the branch’s innovative features and specially purposed spaces take color cues from historic Downtown Greer, employing millwork in the teen room as a subtle nod to railroad ties, and floor patterns in the children’s area that are resonant of once thriving local textile mills. The combination of new textures, colors, and contemporary furniture provides a welcome refresh to this vital community resource.

Architecture firm for the expanded and renovated Greer Branch was Craig Gaulden Davis and General Contractor was Clayton Construction.