Bishop served as the head librarian for the Paris Women's Club, which operated a library before the Paris Carnegie Public Library was constructed. The PWC library was housed in the Bibo Building on West Court St. The PWC was instrumental in bringing a Carnegie Library to Paris. When the library opened, the room in the basement, now known as the Pennington Room, was used to house the PWC.

Bishop was a widow of 61, and she had two daughters, Katherine and Lucy. Katherine was a notary and a court stenographer, and Lucy was a music teacher. Katherine served as a library board member. When Lucy died, Katherine gave the library a memorial, the Lucy E Bishop. The Lucy E Bishop Fund is still used to purchase non-fiction materials.