History of
The Rita and Truett Smith Public Library


The challenge to begin a library was suggested by Truett Smith in a speech to the Wylie Garden Club in the late 1960’s. Citizens donated money, time, and books with Mr. Smith providing the funds for rent and utilities for a library. On May 28, 1970, Wylie Public Library opened its doors at the Tower Suite of the First State Bank Building. By 1974, the library had outgrown its space. The City rented a building on Ballard Street in downtown Wylie to accommodate the growing collection. In 1985, Rita and Truett Smith donated the present building to the City of Wylie. It was 5,000 square feet and included a meeting room. The Library was named the Rita and Truett Smith Public Library.

In 1994, the citizens of Wylie approved the collection of a sales tax that provided founding for the renovation and expansion of the Library. In 1995, the city employed Mignon Morse as Library Director. She was the first director of the library to hold a Master’s Degree in Library Science. City Council approved the construction bid for the Library on October 9, 1996, and it was completed in March 1997. Two thousand square feet were added to the existing five thousand square feet in the library. Because the community had established the need to focus on the education of children, the children’s area was the emphasis of the renovated library. The keynote speaker and special guest for the Grand Opening of the Library was Laura Bush, the First Lady of Texas.

The Friends Group of the Rita and Truett Smith Public Library was formed in January 1986. The mission of the Friends is to help provide educational, informational, and recreational resources to all patrons of the library. The organizations is a non-policy making, non-profit group organized for the exclusive purpose to provide funding for the Library. Their goals include providing library services to the community and providing funds to supplement the City’s budget to the library.

The Friends of the Library have provided funds needed to purchase materials and shelving which have included panels for the ends of shelving ranges and a shelf for the easy readers. They provided funds for the Coffee Bar for patrons and make many other significant contributions to the library.

The group’s primary fund raiser is the annual Greeting Card Page in the Wylie News the week before Christmas. The Friends solicit donations from the community, individuals, and businesses to support the Library. The names of the contributors are listed in the Greeting Card in the newspaper. The group also sells soft drinks at the annual Summer Concert series in Olde City Park. In 2002 the group’s membership began to grow and flourish. Anew president was elected and the bylaws were rewritten. The group has become very active in the community. They are a vital part of the community.

The Library began the decade of 1990 with a collection of 28,484, a circulation of 44,017 items and a book budget of $4,727. In the fiscal year of 1995, the circulation had grown to 49,691 with a staff of 3.5 full-time employees. The library had 6,500 library card holders and 35,169 materials in the collection. The circulation for FY 2000 soared over 80,000 with 45,182 patrons visiting the Library and 9,578 card holders. There were 38,227 items in the collection and a book budget of $31,630. New services in the Year 2000 included a new Community Center collection and the delivery of materials to the Meals on Wheels participants. In addition, the Library hired a Children’s Programming Coordinator in October 2000. In November 2000, the Library began offering Winter Reading Club.