History:

After Ballard incorporated as a city, the Dewey Woman's Christian Temperance Union raised money to open a free reading room in 1901.

Ballard residents raised money and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie donated $15,000 to build the Carnegie Free Public Library in 1904 on what is now Northwest Market Street. In 1907, when the city of Seattle annexed Ballard, the library became a branch of The Seattle Public Library.