[3] By a vote of 461–122, Lakeland citizens, in 1924, approved a bond issue of $75,000 to build and equip the library.

[3] The building, the work of architect Franklin Adams Jr., was in the Mediterranean Revival style, had a steel circular staircase, and the lobby was decorated with a twelve-inch frieze.

[3] It was Lakeland's first public library and it was in what is now the Park Trammell Building on the north shore of Lake Morton.

[3] By 1938 the Library had a story hour for children, a nature club, and a fifteen-minute broadcast once a week on WLAK radio.

[3] On April 5, 1965 plans for a new library building were approved, through a contract bid of $317, 716, to meet the increasing needs of citizens.

[3] In 1966 the new facility was built on the east shore of Lake Morton and the library moved into its current location.

[3] That same year the library was awarded a LSCA Title II grant if $7, 268 to join the SOLINET/OCLC interlibrary loan system.

[3] In September 1996 Lakeland City Commissioners voted to join the new Polk County Library Cooperative.

[6] In 1937, Mrs. Dunbar was able to persuade the city commission to use funds from the Works Progress Administration to renovate a small wooden bungalow at 1040 North Virginia Avenue to create a separate library space for black citizens.

[7] With the project unanimously approved, funds were allocated by the Commission and the Lakeland Public Library was chosen as the location for the future exhibit space.

An advisory committee made up of educators, city officials, local business owners, and civic and community leaders, led by former Mayor Gow Fields, was established to organize and advise the City in the design, content, and construction of the exhibit.

[12] In 2021, construction began on the Lakeland History & Culture Center, "a dedicated exhibit and research space that shares inclusive stories of Lakeland in harmony with all those who have contributed, and continue to contribute, to its culturally diverse history," and opened the following year.

[18] The small collection featured recent fiction, non-fiction, DVDs, CDs, audiobooks, bestsellers, and HotSpots.