[3] The Saint Paul Public Library system traces its beginnings to 1856 when the newly formed YMCA opened a reading room.

[4] Finally, on September 7, 1882, the city council approved an appropriation of $5,000 to establish the Saint Paul Public Library.

A site was chosen on Rice Park,[4] and in 1910, the library board began discussing how to raise the $500,000 it was estimated the new building would cost.

[4] Almost simultaneously, $100,000 toward the project was raised through a subscription campaign, $30,000 was received through a bequest from Greenleaf Clark, and the state legislature authorized the sale of $600,000 in bonds for the construction of the new facility.

Ultimately, the entire building, including the Hill Reference Library, was erected at a cost of approximately $1.5 million.

[4] The library started an extension division in the 1920s provided books for various public schools in Ramsey County outside of Saint Paul.

The Highland Park library was remodeled and enlarged in 1975,[7] then closed again for six months in 1995 for further expansion and conjunction to the Hillcrest Recreation Center.

[13] Replacing the Lexington branch, the Rondo Community Outreach Library opened in 2006 in a mixed-use facility including 98 housing units.

[20] The initiative entailed a number of changes in policy, which affected its workforce and services in relation to people of color.

[23] The library has commissioned and published children's books in Karen, Amharic, and Oromo because of the lack of these resources in the U.S. and the need within the city.

The City of Saint Paul has the largest and fastest-growing population of Karen people in the U.S.[24] In 2019, the library eliminated fines for overdue items.