The public library in Middlesex County, Virginia traces its beginning to 1915 when fifteen ladies formed a book club for the purpose of exchanging and enjoying the pleasures of reading together. The books were signed on the fly leaf when borrowed and returned, and some of these original books are still on the shelves of the Middlesex County Public Library today. The formal establishment of the Library took place in 1927. It was housed in the Middlesex County Bank building in the town of Urbanna. A library funded by the U.S. Works Progress Administration (WPA) was formed in Deltaville during the 1930's but was discontinued in the 1940's. The Deltaville Library was reorganized by volunteers in the 1950's and was incorporated in 1985.

The two libraries were merged in 1987 as the Middlesex County Public Library, Inc. (MCPL) and is one of eleven independent public libraries in Virginia. Together the branches at Urbanna and Deltaville house a collection of more than 36,000 items including rare books, an extensive collection on the history of Middlesex County, children's books, and audio and video tapes. In Fiscal 2001-02 total circulation exceeded 50,000, and there were over 37,900 patron visits at the two branches.