About Saint Paul Public Library
Saint Paul Public Library serves the residents of the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota, with 13 locations, a mobile library, outreach services, and online resources.
Saint Paul Public Library is a department of the City of Saint Paul. The Saint Paul City Council serves as the Library Board.
Saint Paul Public Library is part of MELSA (Metropolitan Library Service Agency), the regional public library system serving the 7-county Twin Cities metropolitan area.
The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library supports libraries through fundraising, advocacy, and programming,
Mission
The mission of Saint Paul Public Library is to welcome all people to connect, learn, participate and grow.
About Saint Paul Public Library
History
On September 7, 1882, the city council established the Saint Paul Public Library with a collection of 8,051 books.
The library grew rapidly in the following years. Planning for a new library building began in 1909. Central Library opened in 1917, as did three branch libraries, all in the Carnegie library style: Saint Anthony Park, Riverview, and the original Arlington Hills building (now the East Side Freedom Library).
Today, the Saint Paul Public Library system consists of the George Latimer Central Library, 12 branch libraries, and a mobile library. The collection contains more than 750,000 physical items as well as over 200,000 e-books and other downloadable materials.