Library History

Thanks to Andrew Carnegie, Shenandoah residents enjoy life-long learning opportunities at Shenandoah Public Library. In 1903 Carnegie provided $10,000 to start the library. It formally opened August 2, 1905. As the years passed, progress made it possible to expand the library. In 1955, the library added an auditorium, a kitchenette and the present-day archives storage room. The library grew again in 1988 when Ivan and Caroline Wilson gave a gift funding the north wing. In 2012, the library added on to the east, funded by a grant from Vision Iowa, donations from various individuals, and most of all by the citizens of Shenandoah.

Mission Statement

The Shenandoah Public Library

• connects you with literature, information and the world

• provides you with a place to learn, to recreate and to gather