Petersburg Branch Library was first officially opened in 1936 in the small front room of the G.L. Mead building, under a Work Projects (WPA) grant. The Mead building was situated at the present site of the new Community Building and history repeats itself with the present building returning to its original location.

The earliest records of a library in Petersburg indicate service was available under the name Summerfield Town Library, which was probably directed by the local school board in the 1850s.