The Marion County Public Library was founded by the Lebanon-Marion County Woman’s Club in 1923 and they very admirably operated it for over 40 years.
In 1966 the library became affiliated with the Kentucky Department of Libraries in Frankfort after a tax was passed by petition in Marion County.
In 1969, the library received an Amortization Grant from the State to finance a new library building. A year later, the beautiful building at 201 East Main Street was completed and the books were moved across the street. The building with nearly all new furnishing cost about $180,000.
In 1993, the size of the building was nearly doubled, with a generous bequest of $200,000 from Dorothy Thomas Cullen and Margaret Lindsey Creech, daughters of the late Judge R. Thomas.
The Lebanon City Council and Marion County Fiscal Court each contributed $15,000 and the State Library matched local funding of $230,000.
The library’s last construction project began in the fall of 2017.
The project was funded by a grant through the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives and was completed when we reopened in February of 2019.
In 2023, the library celebrated its 100 year anniversary.