Montgomery County Memorial Library System

The satellite East Branch Library, located in a leased area of a shopping mall between the towns of New Caney and Porter, was opened in 1974.

In 1978 the 5,500 square feet (510 m2) South Branch Library building was completed with the help of donations and a federal LSCA grant of $75,000.

In 1985, the Magnolia Branch Library, with 2,800 square feet (260 m2), was opened in the Southwest County Annex.

In June 1988, a West Branch Library opened inside the Western Hills Shopping Center.

In July, the West Branch Library was approved for expansion using LSCA grant money and matching funds from the county by purchasing additional space in the Western Hills Shopping Center.

In May of that year, the library reopened in a temporary location filled with thousands of donated books.

[1] During the 1999 fiscal year, the Montgomery County Memorial Library System circulated over one million items for the first time.

Tullis and West Branch libraries and to add a new facility in the western reaches of The Woodlands.

The bond passed with a 52% margin despite strong opposition led by a group of citizens opposed to an increase in taxes.

[2] In August 2002, a group of citizens attended a meeting of the Commissioners' Court to push for the removal of Robie Harris' It's Perfectly Normal due to complaints that the title was inappropriate.

At first, the directive was given to remove the work from library shelves, which was a violation of the very policy that the court had approved just six years earlier.

[4] Sadler sought to give control over the approval of all materials procured by the library to the county commission.

[5] As a result of these ongoing struggles, Library Director Jerilynn A. Williams received the PEN First Amendment Award in 2003.