History:

In 1959, the Monroe County Library moved into the first building in the county constructed specifically for library purposes. The facility, the Edward D. Ellis Library, named for the originator of the constitutional provision allocating penal fines to libraries, located at 3700 S. Custer, would serve as a headquarters--offices, storage and a garage--but nothing more. Soon, though, space was created and the doors were opened to public service.