That was one of the slogans the education committee of the Women's Civic Club used in 1911 to rally support for the establishment of a free public library in Pottsville. Although there had been several libraries in the City since its founding in 1806, the institutions had either charged fees or restricted their services to certain segments of society.

The Women's Civic Club members opened their drive for a library that would be both free and public by enlisting the cooperation of the Pottsville School Board and various interested citizens. During a two-week whirlwind campaign that consisted mostly of door-to-door canvassing, the energetic library organizers succeeded in raising $10,775.25. The money made possible the rental of a building and the purchase of furniture and books.

The Pottsville Free Public Library opened its door for the first time November 9, 1911, in a three-story building at 208 West Market Street. On the upper floors were eight small "dormitories" the fledgling library planned to sublet for $1.50 to $3.50 a week, depending on room size, and a meeting hall to be used free by townspeople. The Library was located in a first-floor area, 14 by 41 feet, formerly the site of a saloon.

By 1914, the book collection had tripled. Books were everywhere. The space problem was so acute that some volumes were stored in a cast-iron oven left over from the building's saloon days.

Pottsville's present public library is partly a private triumph. Arthur, Henry W., and Louise Sheafer, members of a wealthy Pottsville family whose fortune had been made in coal and iron, bought the land in 1914 at a cost of $23,500. The following year, a grant of $45,000 for the construction of a building was obtained from the Carnegie Foundation. But World War I delayed the project's start.

By 1921, when the Library was once again ready to implement its building plans, post-war prices had made the Carnegie grant inadequate. Henry and Arthur Sheafer came to the rescue with a gift of $55,000 made in memory of Louise Sheafer, who had died in 1919.

The new Pottsville Library opened its doors to the public on May 1, 1922. The hundreds of first-day visitors who streamed through the white marble entryway saw a huge main room, 40 by 114 feet, with 20-foot high ceilings, white Corinthian columns, and walls lined with mahogany bookcases.