Salt Lake City Public Library celebrates 125 years
Feb 17, 2023, 11:26 AM | Updated: 11:34 am
(Salt Lake City Public Library)
SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake City Public Library is celebrating its 125th birthday this week!
Two years after Utah became a state, residents received a free public library on Feb. 14, 1898. The library was part of the City and County building, occupying two rooms and holding 10,000 books.
The Salt Lake City Public Library system (known as The City Library) has been in continuous operation for 125 years, and now boasts the Main Library downtown and seven neighborhood branches.
Background
The library came about thanks to the effort of the Ladies’ Literary Club and other local organizations – working in cooperation with the Mayor and City Council. In 1897, a petition circulated among Salt Lake City residents, calling for Library funding. The petition gained the required 1,000 signatures in a matter of days and in June 1897, the City Council unanimously approved a tax levy to fund a public library. By the end of the year, the Mayor appointed a Library board of directors and staff. On January 1, 1898, 10,000 books from a defunct Pioneer Library were moved to the new location, which was ready to open six weeks later.
Today
Today, The City Library welcomes thousands of new cardholders every year and holds a collection of over 2 million items. In 2022, over 3 million physical and digital items were borrowed; 27,243 new Library cards were issued; and 929,871 visits were made to the eight Libraries. By utilizing library resources, patrons saved a total of $28,854,666.97 during the calendar year.