Libraries have served as spaces for community and education for centuries. Since the first known free tax-supported public library in 1833, libraries have made a commitment to creating opportunities for everyone - regardless of race, age, class, financial status and other factors. Libraries are for meant for everyone.

The Jefferson Public Library has been creating such opportunities since 1901. Throughout the years, we have expanded to keep pace with our ever-growing and ever-changing community, with our last expansion being in 1967.

In the five decades since, the perception, operation, and mission of libraries have shifted dramatically. While we've maintained our reputations as centers for learning, the ways in which people learn have changed.

We've moved from being "just books", as we often say, to including resources such as movies, audiobooks, puzzles, games, and even puppets and cake pans for patrons to check out.

We've updated our technology, automating our checkout system and catalog functions, bringing in public computers and tablets, and adding electronic books, children's learning computers, Play Touch tables, public WiFi and an outdoor charging station to our collection.

We've expanded our services.

What has not expanded, however, is our space.

In 2018, a committee of dedicated volunteers and library staff met to remedy this issue with the help of a professional library planner. It was determined that the library's current size of 8,000 square feet would need to be nearly tripled to "provide for the services expected of 21st century libraries".

What has followed in the years since has been a series of meetings, architectural studies, and City Council presentations with one purpose in mind: to build a new library to better accommodate current and future generations.

Join us on this journey of what your public library could be. Stay up to date with meetings and photo tours below.