Many consider the Armstrong Library a staple in the community, and every year during the holidays, a handful of local homeowners open their doors to ensure it stays that way.

The annual Library Tour of Homes showcases private residences in Natchez decked out for Christmas and not typically open to the public for tours.

The tour is sponsored by the Friends of the Library, the volunteer fundraising arm of the Armstrong Library.

“It’s our major fundraiser for the year,” said Maria Bowser, president of the Friends of the Library.

The Friends of the Library typically likes to spend the money its efforts raise on materials and items for the teen and children’s areas of the library, Bowser said, as well as software and other expenses.

Maintenance and infrastructure expenses are generally considered the responsibility of the City of Natchez, which owns the library.

This year, though, Bowser said the Friends of the Library will need to chip in to help replace a door at the library that was vandalized approximately six months ago.

When it rains or is windy, Bowser said, the book drop blows in and opens the books to the elements.

“Both the city and the county have agreed to help, but the door itself would need to be replaced,” Bowser said.

The Library Tour of Homes fundraiser means the Friends of the Library can ensure the library’s needs are taken care of so it can continue to offer its services, Bowser said.

“The library is a place that everybody uses,” she said.

Library supporter Marcia McCullough chose to open her home for this year’s tour, and said the library is an important part of the essence of Natchez.

“I think its educational services our wonderful,” she said.

And the Christmas tour is always fun for visitors and homeowners.

“It’s a big tradition to kick off the holiday season,” McCullough said.

On tour this year are the homes of:

• Meg and Mac Hazlip have have restored Elward at 612 Washington St., typical of the Greek Revival brick cottages built in the 1830s. Richard Elward was a book binder and served in several positions before his early death. His widow, Mary, survived until 1880 when ownership passed to his daughter, Laura Elward Monteith, a charter member of the Natchez Progressive Study Club and president of the Confederate Memorial Association. She owned the house until her death in 1935, after which the house became home to the Abbot family for more than 50 years.

• Marcia and John McCullough own a Victorian house at 408 South Commerce St., that was built on a lot purchased in October 1883 by Bette Ullman Benjamin, wife of Samuel L. Benjamin, a grocer and liquor dealer. The McCulloughs have completed extensive remodeling of this house and also transformed a portion of Pearl St. into cottages.

• Lou Ellen and Guy Stout, 415 South Commerce St., renovated their house into a modern family home while maintaining its historic exterior. The restoration included removing the remnants of outhouses in the back yard and filling a 30-foot cistern beneath the kitchen floor.

• Dr. Will and Jan Austin, at 203 Clifton Ave., boast a view of the Mississippi River. In 1885, William Howard Pritchartt, a steamboat purser, fell in love with a passenger, Miss Anne Mounger. They married, came to Natchez and bought two lots on the bluff. In 1900, they completed their house for the sum of $3,700, and it was occupied by Pritchartts until 2011.

The Library Tour of Homes is scheduled for 2 to 5 p.m., Sunday Dec. 6.

Tickets are $15 for one house tour or $25 for two and may be purchased in advance at the library or Natchez Pilgrimage Tours in the Natchez Visitor Reception Center and at any home on the day of the tour.

For more information, visit natchezlibraryfriends.org.