The system has 41 library locations, deposit collections at nursing homes and correctional facilities, mail service to the homebound, and extensive outreach services.

[4] Hennepin County Library started in 1922 as a horse-drawn "bookmobile" to areas outside the core city of Minneapolis.

The system saw a large increase in use in the period between 1950 and 1980 as more people moved into suburban areas of the county.

However, the Minneapolis library system reconsidered, and merger plans were put on hold.

[6] The Hennepin County Free Library started operating a bookmobile (then called a book wagon) in 1922.