"[4] The mission of the James Prendergast Library is to provide access to information resources, staff, facilities and services that respond to the pursuit of knowledge, education, lifelong learning opportunities and cultural enrichment by the people of the City of Jamestown and Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties.

[11][12][13] On January 1, 1880, eleven days after his death, It was announced that James' parents, Alexander and Mary Prendergast, had already taken steps to ensure that their son's wishes would "be carried out to the every letter.

Warner of Rochester, the building had a Richardsonian Romanesque design with rounded arches, Medina sandstone exterior, and turret on the southeast corner.

Located in the octagonal tower on the southeast corner of the building, the opening celebration was attended by more than 1,000 children.

The board decided to hold a five-week experiment and announced that as of November 1905 the stacks would be open for public browsing.

It was determined that the existing library space, which was handling an annual circulation of 200,000, was less than one-third adequate for operation.

The existing art gallery would remain unchanged, as well as the south side of the building in order to maintain the traditional atmosphere of the library.

[27] Ground initially broke in 1961, focusing on a basement level addition and renovation for the newly formed Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Library System.

Much of the current collection consist of the original paintings with additions bequeathed to the library over the years.