The Arvada Library dates from 1938, first opening its doors in the Arvada Town Hall with Alice Gallagher as the librarian. It received NYA assistance and rented books from the Denver Public Library. In 1941, the library moved to a building on Wadsworth Boulevard (now Olde Wadsworth) at Grandview Avenue in the Davis block and to another building in the same block in 1942.

From 1941 to 1943, the library board lobbied to have the city take over library financing. That eventually happened when the WPA ceased its funding in 1943. As a city-owned library, it received $863 annually. After a succession of librarians, in 1946 Murrel Gill became the librarian, and she helped the library grow until 1964, when she retired.

During Gill’s tenure there were varied sources of library aid. In 1950, Community Chest began contributing $200 a year. Local clubs also helped. The Lions Club donated $250 in 1948 "for purchase of teen-age books to help curb juvenile delinquency," according to a report by the Denver Welfare Council. In 1950, the Citizens’ Library Committee formed to find larger quarters for the library, moving it to a city-owned house in McElvoy Park in 1951.

When consolidation was offered in 1953, city funding for the library had grown to $3,000 a year, so the Arvada Library decided to remain independent. By 1964, when Librarian Kenneth E. Dowlin replaced Gill, the library’s budget was $28,000, which supported four full-time librarians and three part-time employees.

Thanks to fund-raising efforts of the Better Arvada Library League and city funds, ground was broken Aug. 3, 1965, for a new library at 57th Avenue and Dover Street.

In 1969, the Arvada Library joined the county system.

-- excerpt from 50 Stories for 50 Years: Stories and History of the Jefferson County Public Library