The Visalia Free Library, built with Carnegie Corporation funds, opened on May 31, 1904.

In 1926 the city of Visalia offered to furnish a site and pay one-half the construction cost as well as to pay its share of maintenance for a new library building for the county.

On August 3, 1961, additional space was added to the Visalia Library when a children's reading room and a stack room officially were opened for use.

In 1976 a new Joint Tulare County/Visalia City Library building was constructed with grant funds, for one and one-half million dollars.

The main library building, built in 1976, was remodeled merging with the WPA 1936 into one larger facility in 2008.