Chapin Memorial Library

Myrtle Beach's Chapin Memorial Library is the only city-owned library in South Carolina. A public library originally opened in 1939 on North Kings Highway with 501 books. During World War II, the library moved to the Chapin Company building as part of the government recreation program for soldiers.

In August 1948, the Chapin Foundation provided $40,000 for a library on city park land and $2,000 more for landscaping. The city's Chapin Memorial Library opened June 1, 1949, on the corner of Kings Highway and 14th Avenue North and has been expanded four times.

Chapin Memorial Library circulated a record 230,303 items and welcomed 147,778 customers during the fiscal year which ended June 30, 2009. Aside from checking out books and audiovisual materials, patrons used public computers for 33,400 hours and wireless connections for 2,555 hours. During the year, the library added 5,222 new customers from 700 ZIP Codes in 43 states and 23 other countries.

Chapin Memorial Library offers a new reference service.

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