History

East Shelby Branch Library is a recent addition to the Memphis/Public Library & Information Center. It is located in the Hickory Hill area. In December 1989, the City Council voted to annex 15.6 square miles of the Hickory Hill area for development. The result was a legal battle that lasted over 11 years and finally ended in July 1998. This battle also became a stumbling block to a new library being built in the area, because of the uncertainty of the final results of the lawsuit, although a library was certainly needed and actively sought. The annexed area of Hickory Hill officially became part of the city of Memphis on January 1, 1999, however, the East Shelby branch library is on the edge of the city and county boundary line and is considered to be a county branch. It opened on Feb. 15, 1999 with an official grand opening on March 16, 1999.

The branch serves 2 high schools, 3 middle schools and 7 elementary schools.

East Shelby is one of the larger branches in the library system with 30,000 square feet. The Shelby County Government funded the construction costs. The Branch is one of only a few in the system featuring a self-checkout machine.