[5] The first librarian appointed was Joy Cuskey (later Brucek) who arrived on 28 August 1953 with 3,000 books which she travelled from Darwin to Alice Springs with on a fire truck.

Soon the library outgrew its site and, in 1958, it moved to a refurbished cottage on Hartley Street - a low-slung, white fibro bungalow with a sloping roof next to the Old Courthouse.

I crept inside, was given a drink and a biscuit.During this period Olive Pink was also a regular visitor and would regularly try to 'pull rank' in appealing to Cuskey that she should have first rights to new books due to her research interests; this led to conflict between the two and Pink began ordering books directly from the National Library.

In 2019 the library received a grant to complete a cultural sensitivity assessment of the collection and this was carried out by Braydon Kanjira, a traditional owner from Ntaria (Hermannsburg) who has extensive experience in the repatriation of Arrernte knowledge and objects.

[5][18][19] He worked alongside library staff, including the Indigenous Services Officer, and a 'traffic-lighting' system was used to classify the image's in terms of access.

[22] Meaning 'giving knowledge' in Arrernte, Akaltye-Antheme offers visitors to the library an insight into contemporary Indigenous issues and culture and is designed for browsing.

[24] Of the Akaltye Antheme Collection Sylvia Perrurle Neale, the former Indigenous Services Officer at the library, said:[24] Akaltye Antheme and the reasoning behind its development is a great beginning in achieving the Alice Springs Public Library's goal for its commitments to its Indigenous patrons.

This proved to be very popular with those unable to watch movies at home, including town campers and is a way of ensuring the library is a place for everybody in the region.