Mission Statement
It is the mission of the Shelby County Public Libraries to make available quality public library service to all of Shelby County, regardless of place of residence. It is the mission of the Harrison Regional Library to support the other public libraries in Shelby County to fulfill this mission.
Introduction
There are eleven public libraries in Shelby County. Nine of these libraries are located in and supported by the following municipalities: Alabaster, Calera, Chelsea, Columbiana, Helena, Montevallo, Pelham, Vincent and Wilsonville. The tenth library, the North Shelby Library, is located in a legally established library district and is supported by fees levied by that district. The final library, the Harrison Regional Library, is the county headquarters for the library system.

By mutual agreement, the Harrison Regional Library serves as a centralized resource center, a centralized distribution center and a centralized technical service center for the other ten libraries. As headquarters library for the cooperative library system, Harrison Regional Library also serves as an administrative hub to disperse state funds, administer federal funds of a county wide nature, and coordinate the activities of the member libraries. The Harrison Regional Library also serves some unique functions as provider of services for specialized clientele such as the homebound.

In return for the services provided by the Harrison Regional Library, the other ten libraries in this system provide library services to all citizens of Shelby County regardless of place of residence. Services provided by the library system include circulation of materials, reference services and programming for children and adults.