Civil War veteran E.F. Heisler joined the effort in 1871 and established a small library in his office for a $1 fee.

The building was adorned with carved heads of classic authors and poets and featured a life-size portrait of Mrs. Sarah Richart.

A Bond Issue passed that year funding the library that is currently located at 625 Minnesota.

In 1910, the City of Argentine was annexed, and W. W. Thomas, through an agreement with local businesses, created a public library in a storefront with Miss Hazel Beeler was the first librarian.

[4] This facility survived the 1951 flood and, by the 1970s, housed the largest Spanish Language collection in the metro area.

In 2012 the current South Branch opened at a cost of $6 million, one third of which was acquired by the fundraisers of local residents.

Over the years, service was provided via various vehicles, from a converted bread truck to the current fleet of three mobile libraries.

This facility offers visitors library materials on science and nature and houses a small menagerie of local animals.