The Tazewell County Public Library Community Journal Project is a creative outlet for you to share stories, drawings, recipes, and more with the Tazewell County community. This is for all-ages. These journals will be kept as a record for future generations in Tazewell County.
Can I check out these community journals?
Yes, you can check them out up to 2 weeks and renew them up to 3 times.
Are there any rules?
All journals are kid-friendly, G-rated. Do not write or deface the pages that comes before yours. You may sign your name or remain anonymous. We ask you to respect the privacy of others and do not share identifying information unless it is your own to share.
On Thursday, May 19, 2022, the Board of Trustees unanimously passed two motions concerning juvenile and young adult library cards:
Motion 1: Change the policy to where the age limit would be 0 – 17 years old.
Motion 2: Eliminate fines for card holders up to 17 years for a trial period for 1 year while we do internal research.
What does this mean?
1. Previously, juvenile cards were limited to ages 5 – 17 years old. With motion 1, parents will now be able to get library cards for children from birth to 4 years old.
2. Card holders from 0 – 17 years old will no longer accrue fines on their cards. We are waiving all fines on current juvenile cards. Damaged or unreturned items (checked out for over 8 weeks) will still be billed to a card.
Why are we doing this?
The library should be the one cradle to grave institutions that a person never grows out of. One outgrows public school, but never outgrow access to a public library. Tazewell County Public Library is uniquely poised in our community to effect positive change by eliminating fines for late children’s books. The library has a responsibility to increase equitable access and remove obstacles to the collection.
A child who is told, “No, we can’t check out any books, we have fines,” that memory sticks and could impact that child’s future. Tazewell County Public Library wants to extend a beckoning hand to every baby, toddler, child and teen of this community to welcome them back to their library. We want to encourage lifelong readers and access to books.
What’s Next?
Currently, the Board of Trustees has approved a one year trial period for eliminating fines. We will collect internal data to justify extending beyond the trial period, but we also need to hear how this change positively effects you. Please fill out the Google Form below to tell us your story.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Library Director Erica Hall or Children’s Librarian Lisa Tyson. If you would like to talk to the Board of Trustees about this change, learn how you can can participate in a Board of Trustees meeting here.
Tazewell County Public Library is excited to announce 2022 Summer Reading: Millions of Minutes. We are encouraging the Tazewell County community to read over a million minutes this summer.
Please enter the number of minutes you read into the Google form below. Remember, audiobooks count too! Enter minutes as often as you want.
We will report the running total on our website and Facebook.
For Parents
If you are a parent of a baby or child, please enter the number of minutes you read to them or the number of minutes that they read themselves.
Print off a bingo card to encourage reading, win prizes, and keep track of your kids minutes: PDF
For Teens
Print off a 2022 Summer Reading Challenge for Teens to inspire you and help keep track of your minutes: PDF
For Adults
Print off a 2022 Summer Reading Challenge for Adults to inspire you and help keep track of your minutes: PDF
Tazewell County Public Library is partnering with the Virginia Department of Health to distribute free rapid COVID-19 antigen at-home test kits. No library card required. Tests are for personal, individual use. If you are experiencing symptoms, please ask someone else to pick up your test kit for you.
Current Availability
Bluefield: In-Stock
Richlands: In-Stock
Pocahontas: Currently Closed
Tazewell: In-Stock
How do I get a test kit?
Call your local library branch to check availability before visiting.
Due to high demand, the COVID-19 test kits are available on a first-come, first-served basis at the library.
We are not able to hold kits at this time
Kits are limited to two per person
How do I use the test kits
Librarians cannot assist you using the test kit
Directions and an FAQ will be provided to you.
What do my test results mean?
Library employees cannot assist you in reading or understanding the test results. Please contact the Virginia Department of Health of Cumberland Plateau Health District.
Get access to Virginia Legal Forms, including forms for wills, divorces, power of attorney, and more. These forms are available in Microsoft Word and Rich Text Format.
Get free online tutoring with your library card from the hours of 2pm – 11pm for K – 12th grade in a variety of subject areas. A kindergartener can get reading and writing help. Where as, a senior in high school can get assistance in algebra, geometry, biology, chemistry, statistics, and many other subjects.
Students can even get assistance filling out FAFSA applications.
For adults, get assistance in GED preparation, career assistance, and the U.S. Citizenship Test.
Library card number required for accessing online tutoring. Other features may require the creation of an account.
Good news! We will be getting new carpet and flooring throughout the public areas of our Tazewell Library. In order to make this happen, the Tazewell Library will be closed from Friday, August 6 to Tuesday, August 24. The other three TCPL locations will remain open their normal business hours.
In order to make moving and storing things easier, we encourage all patrons to max out your library cards before August 6. Any patron that checks out 30 items on their card from Tazewell will be entered into a drawing for a $20 Amazon gift card provided by the Friends of Tazewell County Public Library.
Checkout times on all materials will be extended until Wednesday, September 1st. You will still be able to place holds on Tazewell items, but please know that they will not be fulfilled until late August when we reopen.
The Tazewell Library will still distribute lunches from Feeding Southwest Virginia through August 16.
Tazewell County Public Library is pleased to announce a partnership with the Feeding Southwest Virginia Summer Food Program to provide summer meals to children 18 years old and under. Tazewell County Public Library will be distributing food boxes that contain 5 breakfasts, 5 lunches and 10 milks. The distribution will be weekly, from June 7 through August 16 on the following schedule:
Richlands Branch: Mondays starting at 12pm, questions: call 276-964-5282
Bluefield Branch: Wednesdays starting at 11am, questions: call 276-326-1577
Pocahontas Branch: Wednesdays starting at 1pm, questions: call 276-288-6138
Tazewell Main Library: Thursdays starting at 2pm, questions: call 276-988-2541.
Plastic bags courtesy of Food City, store # 827, Claypool Hill.
Tazewell County Public Library is seeking to permanently acquire high school yearbooks from Tazewell County. We currently have over 100 yearbooks, but are missing many years in our collection.
We are asking for donations from the public in order to fill any gaps. We will include a book plate into any yearbook to
These non-circulating books will be available for future generations to browse. We also hope to digitize all pre-2000 yearbooks as well. To see which Tazewell County yearbooks have already been digitized, visit the Internet Archive.
Below, you will see all the years that we have for the four county high schools. If you would like to donate a yearbook that we do not have, please drop it off at your nearest TCPL library. We will include a bookplate with your name for your donation.
For questions, please contact Assistant Director Chris Wilkes at (276) 988-2541 or email him at jwilkes@tcplweb.org.
Dear Tazewell County Public Library patrons and community,
Good news! Tazewell County Public Library buildings will reopen to the public on Monday, February 22. Our capacity is limited, so we are asking patrons to limit their time to 1 hour blocks of time. We will continue curbside service for those that prefer it. All libraries will continue with regular business hours, which you can find at our Location and Hours page on our website.
Our staff has been diligently working during the library closure to enhance our online and curbside services. Those will continue for the foreseeable future. Additionally, we have modified our buildings to protect the staff and the public. You may notice some of the following changes when you visit us:
Some furniture removed
Remaining furniture spread further apart
Sneeze guards installed at circulation desks
All toys and manipulatives removed from children’s areas
6 ft floor markers at circulation desks
Returned materials are sanitized and quarantined for 1 week
All staff wearing masks
We ask that all patrons continue practicing mask wearing and social distancing. We also have hand sanitizing stations available throughout the buildings.
We appreciate your patience during these evolving and challenging times. We’ve missed seeing you in our libraries!
