The Main Library at 68 Calhoun Street is more than 100,000 square feet, the largest building in the Charleston County Public Library system. Its stand-in on the upper peninsula, Main at Morrison, has about 6,300 square feet of public space. That's roughly one-sixteenth of the old floor area.
For the length of the renovation, downtown's library is split across three buildings, and each one has a specific job. Main at Morrison handles the everyday visits, the John L. Dart Library on King Street is a second full branch, and the local history archive has left the peninsula for an address on Camp Road. Once you know which building does what, the smaller footprint matters less.
Why Calhoun Street is closed
The Main Library closed on Saturday, Aug. 1, after a final day of public service on Friday, July 31. The renovation is the last phase of the $108.5 million program Charleston County voters approved in 2014. That program built five new libraries and renovated existing branches across the county.
CCPL estimates the work at about 18 months. In an October interview with Live 5 News, Executive Director Angela Craig said it "will probably take 18 months to two years." She added that the system will plan the move back to Calhoun Street "when the building renovations start winding down at Main." Even the shorter estimate runs into early 2028, so the temporary setup will cover more than one school year and at least one more summer.
What fits into 6,300 square feet on Morrison Drive
Main at Morrison is at 1142 Morrison Drive, in the building that used to be the International Longshoremen's Association union hall. According to CCPL's announcement, it offers:
- Browsing collections for children, teens and adults
- Holds pickup and Interlibrary Loan support
- Public computers, internet access, and print and copy services
- An exterior materials return
- Staff assistance
- Limited space for select events and programs
- Free parking
Craig told Live 5 News that the library looked specifically for a peninsula building that had parking, was accessible, and sat on a bus line. She called the Morrison Drive site one that "checked all those boxes." On the transit side, CARTA lists a Route 11 stop at Morrison Drive and Brigade Street.
The building has two floors with separate uses. Craig described it to Live 5 this way:
"The downstairs location is for our patrons. We have a children's team, an adult collection, we have computers, and we have seating available... Upstairs, we do have a programming room where we can do story time."
That upstairs room already has a regular schedule. The Main at Morrison calendar shows Baby Storytime and a Computer Basics class in the first week of November. On Tuesday, Dec. 1, it lists Functional Stretching Exercises from 1 to 2 p.m., followed by Video Game Tuesday for grades 6 through 12 from 3 to 4 p.m.
One service with no connection to books also moved here. Trident United Way's Center for Strong Families, which used to be inside the Main Library, now operates at the temporary site and offers wraparound support for families.
Morrison Drive stays open later than King Street on weeknights
The two peninsula branches keep nearly the same hours. The difference is on weekday evenings.
| Main at Morrison, 1142 Morrison Drive | John L. Dart Library, 1067 King Street | |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Thursday | 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. | 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. |
| Friday | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Saturday | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
| Sunday | Closed | Closed |
Main at Morrison stays open until 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, so the smaller branch is the one available latest on a school night. For an after-dinner holds pickup or an hour at a public computer after work, Morrison Drive has the extra hour.
Book returns changed too. The book drops at Calhoun Street closed on Aug. 1, and CCPL says materials can go back to any other branch. Main at Morrison has its own exterior return. A book checked out at the old Main can go back on Morrison Drive or at Dart on King Street.
The research room is now on Camp Road
The one part of the old Main Library that Morrison Drive doesn't carry is the South Carolina Room. It is CCPL's main local history and genealogy research center, with materials on the history and people of Charleston County and the state. It closed May 1 and reopened at a temporary location at 1248 Camp Road. Craig told Live 5 that the Camp Road site opened a few weeks before Main at Morrison and "has gone over wonderfully well."
The way you use it has changed along with the address. The temporary South Carolina Room is open by appointment only. To book time, call 843-805-6956 or email [email protected]. If you've been meaning to trace a family line or look into the history of an old house on the peninsula, you now need to schedule it and drive across the Ashley.
Dart Library on King Street is the other full branch
The John L. Dart Library at 1067 King Street is the peninsula's second CCPL branch. It is better equipped than many people may assume, because it went through its own referendum-funded renovation not long ago. Dart closed in October 2022 and reopened on Jan. 29, 2024. The work added a community meeting space and technology upgrades, along with new furnishings, shelving, finishes and refreshed collections. The Dart branch page lists public computers, Wi-Fi, printing and copying, and Chromebook access. Its January 2026 calendar included Cricut instruction.
Dart also has long roots on the peninsula. The free library at Dart Hall began in 1927 through the efforts of Susan Dart Butler, and the current branch continues that history. A mural on the building honors longtime librarian Cynthia Graham Hurd. The building also plays a part in the city's cultural calendar. This fall's MOJA Arts Festival lineup, as published by ABC News 4, included heritage storytelling with Fouché Sheppard at the Dart branch.
For families, the two branches offer story time on the same day. Dart's calendar lists Baby Storytime for ages 0 to 24 months on Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 10 to 10:30 a.m. That gives lower and middle peninsula families a King Street option for that morning, while Morrison Drive runs its own programs later in the day.
Making a Morrison Drive visit part of an outing
The library's new block puts a holds pickup close to a few upper-peninsula restaurants. XO Brasserie is a short distance down the road at 1090 Morrison Drive and lists dinner service Tuesday through Sunday, 5 to 9 p.m. In 2025, Charleston City Paper reported that Pelato moved into the former Butcher & Bee space on Morrison Drive and, in an earlier story, that JINYA had opened on Morrison Drive. On the upper end of King Street, Edmund's Oast Brewing lists its taproom at 1505 King Street with a full bar and kitchen. A Saturday that starts with picking up a hold before the library closes at 5 p.m. can end at any of them.
What the wait buys
When the Calhoun Street building reopens, its layout will change in a way families will notice. The renovation moves children's and teen services onto the same floor, which CCPL describes as making it easier for families to use the library together. The plans also include refreshed public spaces and expanded programming areas. You can sign up for construction updates on CCPL's Main Library renovation page.
Until then, the downtown library card works at three addresses. Use 1142 Morrison Drive for holds, computers and story time, 1067 King Street for a renovated full branch with a meeting room, and 1248 Camp Road, by appointment, for South Carolina history.
At Katherine Cox + Co., we keep track of how changes like this one shift everyday routines on the peninsula, from a library move to a new bus stop on the way to it. If you'd like to talk through how downtown Charleston is changing around your own corner of it, we'd be glad to sit down with you. Book an Appointment whenever it suits you.
