Baltimore County Public Library listened when residents of the Hereford Zone expressed a strong desire to have their own library. About ten months after the Friends of the Hereford Library, Inc. was formed, the long awaited branch opened on Monday, October 3, 1988 on the first floor of the Hereford Center building.

The new library opened with 11,000 items on its shelves and was primarily staffed with volunteers. Twenty years later, the collection includes more than 36,000 items and the library's twenty full and part-time Baltimore County Public Library employees outnumber its volunteers. With its facility expanded to 7,500 square feet in 2002 and its hours of operation extended in 2006, the Hereford Library serves the needs of the North County area as a growing full-service branch of Baltimore County Public Library.