The Clay County Library first opened its doors on January 8, 1962. Housed in the Lorentz Building in downtown Clay, approximately 10,000 new books, covering a wide variety of subjects as well as fiction, was available for circulation. The library opened primarily through the efforts of Virgie M. Pierson of Clay and Virginia Roberts, then of the West Virginia Library Commission. Until her death, Mrs. Pierson served as a member of the Clay County Library Board.