The library added a bookmobile, and a Phillis Wheatley branch in the African-American neighborhood of Waverly in 1930.

[4] In 1986, the RCPL, together with the University of South Carolina, began an annual event, "A(ugusta) Baker's Dozen: A Celebration of Stories" in honor of Augusta Braxton Baker, a pioneering children's librarian originally with the New York Public Library.

On February 14 of that year, that voters of Richland County approved a $27 million bond referendum.

[1] Costing $11.6 million, the four story, 242,000 square feet (22,500 m2) Main Library, designed by architect Eugene Aubry, was the chief reason for the bond issue.

Aside from the striking exterior, the Children's Room, which is located in the building's basement, has a mural of characters from Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are.