Ten years later, multiple groups of local citizens met to organize a public library, which began with a collection of six hundred books.

[2] In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the construction of public libraries was proceeding rapidly, due in part to the generosity of steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie.

Nevertheless, local residents worked to secure money from Carnegie, and their efforts succeeded where all before them had failed: his grant provided for the establishment of a library to serve the entirety of Paulding County.

[3]: 3  Located on South Main Street near downtown,[1] the library remains one of Paulding's most important community buildings and a center of local pride.

Among the details visible on the building's exterior are pilasters on all of its corners, string courses that parallel the lintels, multiple cartouches, and an elaborate cornice.

The design of the interior includes elements such as marble in the vestibule, oak panels and decorations in the reading rooms, fireplaces, and Tuscan pilasters.