About

Pima County Public Library, which is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona, has always been committed to being a center of opportunity for our community.

The first public library in Tucson – the Carnegie Free Library – was founded in 1883 when Andrew Carnegie was offering land and money to cities that wanted to build public libraries. In 1901, Tucson's first library building was completed. In 2006, Pima County assumed administrative and fiscal responsibility for the library system from the City of Tucson.

Today, we have 27 libraries and 500 staff members serving nearly one million people throughout Pima County, a region of Southern Arizona that includes Tucson, the surrounding communities of Arivaca, Green Valley, Sahuarita, South Tucson, Ajo, Marana, Oro Valley, and Catalina, and several unincorporated communities.

We believe that excellence is defined locally and is dynamic by nature. These principals guide us as we offer an awe-inspiring array of free programs and services that makes learning fun, transcends barriers, and improves lives.