Livingston Parish Library

Livingston Parish Library was legally established by the Police Jury in 1946 as a demonstration library of the Louisiana State Library. The first library was located in the Livingston Parish Courthouse and opened its doors December 16, 1946. The first Parish Librarian was Annie S. Cowart with Louise Risley as Assistant. Both were graduates of the Louisiana State University School of Library Science. Several Directors have served since 1946, including Mrs. Cowart, Willie Mae Seab, Odile Gill, Betty Dance, Marcia Perkins, Iva Ginn, J. G. Sibley, Austin Higginbotham, Eula Fontenot, Odelia Salassi, Allen Cunningham, and Wendy Bobo. Giovanni Tairov is the current director. The current Library Board of Control completed a major building program for the library system, authorizing the construction of four new facilities to serve as regional branches in 2005. Those new facilities, completed in 2007, continue to see a tremendous amount of usage. Some branches have up to 900 visitors on a busy day. The following branches are in operation today: Livingston Branch (Main), Denham Springs-Walker, Watson, Albany-Springfield, and South. Much of the success and growth of the Livingston Parish Library system can be attributed to retired director Allen Cunningham and retired assistant director Alex Kropog as well as the Library Board of Control for their dedication to providing quality services and programming to the people of Livingston Parish. Along with the current Library Board, the current director and assistant director are working to continue that dedication to the growth and improvement of the public library system. The success of the Livingston Parish Library is directly connected to the citizens of Livingston Parish who, through their continued support of the library system as it grows and develops, have helped to make it into an award-winning system. The Livingston Parish Library Board, administration and staff would like to say thank you to all of the people of Livingston Parish for their love and support of libraries, reading and learning.