The meeting created the Rock Island Library and Reading Room Association, a board of officers and a committee to draft a constitution.

[3] Since Illinois law did not include a provision that allowed the city to tax the residents to fund a library, the board of officers decided the library would be open to the "public" as long the man was a Rock Island resident and could pay the yearly membership fee.

[5] On January 12, 1865, a notice printed in the Rock Island Argus informed the public that there would be a meeting on the 16th for the purpose of creating a new library.

The first meeting of the Young Men's Literary Association was on January 23, 1865, and that night the constitution was adopted and officers were elected.

[11] Miss Gale worked for the Rock Island Public Library for 64 years, the longest tenure of any librarian in the history of Illinois.

The twelve authors carved into the sandstone are the last names of Homer, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Virgil, Victor Hugo, William Shakespeare, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Robert Burns, Esaias Tegner, Alighieri Dante, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and George Bancroft.

[20] The Main Library building opened on December 15, 1903, in downtown Rock Island for browsing.

When the library first opened newspapers called it the "Rock Island’s Temple of Literature" and was hailed by the Argus as one of the most "handsomely appointed in the State outside of Chicago.

[23] The only artwork in the local art showroom was a model of the battleship Illinois, made by David Thompson.

The Ground Floor also holds staff offices, bathrooms, a small meeting room, book resale shelf, and two display cases.

From 1985 to 2015, one of the larger cases held a display of dolls known as Story Mountain, from a collection originally donated to the library in the 1950s.

In 2006, the Main Library closed for a month for new paint, carpeting, desk changes, and other space remodeling.

The branch has wireless internet access, a computer lab, children's and adult reading areas and a self-checkout machine.

The south side of the branch has an Illinois native wildflower garden and table set for patrons wanting to enjoy nature while reading.

The Rock Island Public Library board of trustees formally accepted a bid from the American Doll and Toy Museum.

The sale closed August 7, 2020, officially transferring ownership from the Library to the American Doll and Toy Museum.

In September 2019, the library purchased a 2014 Ford F59 Walk-in Van bookmobile from LDV Custom Specialty Vehicles.

The branch has wireless internet, computer lab, children's and adult reading areas and a self-checkout.