Library History

In 1903, Andrew Carnegie confirmed his grant of $10,000 to erect a Free Public Library Building in North Yakima. In 1904, the Yakima Public Library was established.

In 1944, Rural Library District #1 of Yakima County was established by election. In 1951, the Rural Library District and the City of Yakima pooled their library activities into the Yakima Valley Regional Library. The agreement was revised in 1962 with a seven-member Board.

During the 1940s, the cities of Zillah, Union Gap, Granger, Naches, Mabton and the unincorporated town of Buena joined the Yakima County Library. During the 1950s, Yakima and the Rural Library District pooled their facilities and resources and the cities of Sunnyside and Moxee joined the Regional Library. During the 1970s, the cities of Tieton, Harrah and Selah joined the Regional Library and the Summitview Library was established. During the 1980s, the cities of Moxee and Harrah annexed to the rural library district. During the 1990s, the SouthEast Library was established and the city of Toppenish joined the Regional Library. During the 2000s, the cities of Toppenish, Wapato, Zillah, Sunnyside, Selah and Yakima annexed to the rural library district.