A debate of whether or not to join the County of Los Angeles Public Library system and share a branch with neighboring Artesia or to create a separate facility happened.

In the end, with the then-city manager, the city built its own municipal library on the corner of Bloomfield and 183rd Street in June 1972.

The site was designed by local contractor AJ Padelford & Son using blueprints from architect Maurice Fleishman.

The children's area was tripled to 7,000 square feet (650 m2) to include a medieval mural and a 15,000-gallon saltwater aquarium.

Under the leadership of Library Director Waynn Pearson, the Cerritos Millennium Library was expanded to 88,500 square feet (8,220 m2) on three stories and added 300,000 books to its collection, a conference center, a lecture hall with personal computers and over 200 computer workstations.

Themed after the 19th-century European elements, the Old World Reading Room contains leather-bound books, a fireplace, study spaces, and chandeliers.