Mission:

The Mission Statement of the Jackson/ Hinds Library System is to help fulfill the community's desire for knowledge. We accomplish this by providing:

Quality information services.
Desired, up-to-date resources,
And timely programs.
Through convenient, accessible formats,
And state of the art technology.
In a comfortable, functional, safe, environment.

History:

The Jackson/ Hinds Library System serves the City of Jackson and Hinds County in Mississippi. Hinds County is centrally located within the state and covers an area of 869 square miles. The population of the community served is 251,031. Reorganization of the public library system was undertaken in 1986. The new city-county system, Jackson/Hinds Library System, was created as of October 1, 1986 and began operation that day. The system is funded equally by Hinds County and the City of Jackson. The administrative board is appointed by the members of the Hinds County Board of Supervisors and the members of the Jackson City Council. Each funding authority appoints seven board members, making a total administrative board of fourteen members.

The system began with 12 branches and in the past twelve years has grown to 15 branches. The Eudora Welty Main Library is located in downtown Jackson. Welty contains the single largest collection in the system and houses the Administrative Offices as well as the Technical Services Department. Seven smaller branches are located within the City of Jackson. They are Fannie Lou Hamer/ Albermarle, Margaret Walker Alexander, Colonial Mart, Medgar Evers Boulevard, Northside, South Hills and White Rock. Branches located in Hinds County are: Beverly J. Brown/ Byram, A.E. Wood/ Clinton, Lois A. Flagg/ Edwards, Raymond, Ella Bess Austin/ Terry and Evelyn Taylor Majure/ Utica. Since 1986 three branches have been opened, four have moved to larger quarters and one has been enlarged.

Jackson/ Hinds Library System offers a range of materials and services to persons of all ages. Books, videocassettes, audio cassettes, compact discs, and multimedia kits make up the collection of 535,121 items. Also within the library's collection are current periodicals, microfiche databases, magazine and newspapers on microfilm, and CD-ROM databases. Inter library loan services are offered to patrons. Circulation for the entire system for the fiscal year 2003 was 534,780 items. The patron count for the fiscal year 2003 was 641,924. Patron cards have been issued to 176,974 citizens or property owners. The average circulation was 3.02 items per patron with an average of 3.63 trips to the library per patron.

In keeping with the advances of technology the library has made available to the public the SIRSI automated library catalog, the Internet,  Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, and American Business Disc. The Reference Department also has full access to the Internet to assist in reference questions and offers Document Delivery between the branches via facsimile. Word processors are available at all branches of the library system. Through the statewide MAGNOLIA project via the Internet other databases such as Ebsco Host, CARL Novelist, IAC First Search, Gale's Contemporary Literary Criticism and Wilson Biographies are offered. The Hinds County Law Library is located on the first floor of Eudora Welty Main Library. The Law Library consists of two computer workstations that offer Westlaw/ Premise on-line access.

Patrons also have the services of the Interlibrary Loan Department to assist them in finding the materials they need. Materials that are not owned by the JHLS and are not expected to be purchased may be requested from other libraries through this service. The branches provide various services for the patrons. Meeting rooms are located in some branches and are used by the public for a variety of meetings. Programs for all ages are presented in many of the branches throughout the year. The Jackson/ Hinds Library System is a part of a growing community and is striving to grow with the community it serves.