[1][3][4][5] In 1907, the Governor of the Colony, F. M. Hodson, appointed a Provisional Committee to implement a proposal for the establishment of a Public Free Library using the funding provided by Carnegie.

Initially it ran on a closed access system by which the public were separated from the books by an iron grille, and requests were written and passed to the librarian through a small window.

In 1940, the library introduced an open access system, allowing members to browse the shelves to select books, which increased membership dramatically.

[4] Following the Ordinance of 1950, the Public Free Library began to extend its reach throughout Guyana with the establishment of branches in major settlement areas and the introduction of a number of additional services.

Its initial collection included 2,000 books, and the library was guaranteed a $1,000 annual grant from the New Amsterdam Town Council.

In February 1955 a branch was opened in the township of MacKenzie (now part of Linden) with a collection of 3,021 books.

[4] The first Rural Library Centre was established in Hague Village in West Coast Demerara in Region 3 on 27 August 1950.

The service was extended to the prisons in Georgetown, New Amsterdam, the Mazaruni and Sibley Hall.

In 1997 the Government of Guyana approved the extension plans and committed funds for the work, which began the following year.

It marked the event with a series of public readings and discussions that focused on oral and folkloric narrative traditions in Guyana.

As such, it is entitled to a copy of every publication that is printed in Guyana, and is responsible for storing and conserving this national collection.

There are rural library centres in Aishalton, Albion, Anna Regina, Bartica, Buxton, Crabwood Creek, Hague Village, Mocha, Lethem, Santa Mission and Woodley Park.

[4] Introduced in 1970, the Mobile Service caters for areas that are not covered by the National Library, its branches, or the rural centres.