Mercer County Library

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     601 West Grant                                                                                                                       PHONE:   1-660-748-3725     FAX:  1-660-748-3723

               Princeton, Missouri 64673                                                                                                mercoulib@gmail.com                                                             

 
 

About Us

Through foresight and dedication, Mercer County Library was established in 1926, using one room in the courthouse and operated by volunteers.

In 1954, a 9-cent county tax was voted to establish a separate library in the former Buren house on South Broadway.

Twelve years later, through the generosity of the late Frank Lowry and his wife, Chloe Kauffman Lowry, a 3,360 square foot building was constructed in 1966 on 601 West Grant Street.

The library operated on the 9-cent tax from 1954 until 1989, when at the peak of economic declilne in Mercer County, county residents stepped forward and voted an 11-cent library tax increase, making a 20-cent tax levy from 1989 to present.

In 2011, a 3,360 square foot addition was built in order to double the size of the original building. This was made possible through stimulus money that was funded through the USDA-Rural Development in the form of a $238,000 grant; a USDA loan of $90,000; and $325,000 of Mercer County Library's money that was accumulated through the years of generous donations, memorial gifts, fund-raising and investments.

The staff of Mercer County Library is proud to announce that the library is doing well, running on grants and county tax support, a levy which has not increased since 1989. Many of the machines and materials for the library have been purchased with federal grants received throughout the years.