Library History
 1902
Andrew Carnegie donated funds to the City of Paducah for the construction of a library.  A Board of Trustees consisting of Ed P. Nobel, Charles Weille, Harry Savage, James M. Lang (secretary/treasurer), and Rev. G. W. Perryman (president) was appointed to construct a library building at Broadway and Ninth Street.
 1904
The Carnegie Public Library opened October 4, 1904, with a collection of 1,800 volumes and a book budget of $5,500.  The Delphic Club asked permission to meet in the library every Tuesday from 10 until noon, from October through May.  The group continues to meet to this day.
 1914
On the library's tenth anniversary, Trustees were George C. Wallace (president), Mrs. Louis M. Rieke (vice president), Mrs. A. R. Meyers (secretary), Mr. Charles Weille (treasurer), Judge E. W. Bagby, and Mr. W. P. Hummel.  Staffed by Miss Jessica Hopkins, Angie Thomas, Lula Reed, Hattie Boswell, and Gabrielle Morton, the library reported that there were branch stations at Pettit's Drug Store on the north side, Evans Drug Store at 4th and Broad, and a deposit station at Cumberland Telephone Building. 
 1926
Residents petitioned the county to provide funds to make county residents able to use the library. The library was opened to all McCracken County residents beginning September 1, 1926, with appropriation to begin in 1927.  The City of Paducah executed a deed conveying the property at Broadway and Ninthto the library Board of Trustees.  The property was extended to Ninth Street and Kentucky Avenue.
 1933 The "Elbridge Palmer Memorial" addition was dedicated.  Isaac W. Bernheim, a resident of Paducah from 1868 to 1888, provided funds for the addition in memory of Palmer, his close friend.
 1944 Books bequeathed to the Library by Irvin S. Cobb arrived and were kept intact as a separate collection.
 1947 Virginia Jones, the Children's Librarian, created the Anna Bird Stewart Children's Department.
 1954 The Bertie Fowler Campbell Music Room was established as the Library celebrated its golden anniversary.  Board members were Raymond Roof (Chairman), David Fine, Charles Allen Williams, Lula Reed King, and Clarence M. Bennett.  There were 12,200 users and 37,000 books maintained by Head Librarian Harriet Boswell, Virginia Jones, Martha Fox, Mrs. Arthur Simon, Mrs. Pau Iverlett, Mrs. Leonard Gregory, and Miss Martha Judd. 
 1964 The Carnegie Public Library was extensively damaged by fire on December 30, 1964, and was relocated the following year to the old Paducah Junior College facilities at 707 Broadway, owned by Broadway United Methodist Church.
 1966 The name of the library was changed from the "Carnegie Public Library" to the "Paducah Area Public Library." 
 1969 Construction started on a new library building located on Washington Street between Fifth and Sixth Streets.  The Carnegie property at Kentucky Avenue and Ninth Street was purchased by the Grace Episcopal Church.
 1970 A new 28,000 square foot library was opened to the public with a collection of 33,000 volumes.  The new library was designed to hold 125,000 volumes and two thirds of the second floor was left unfinished for future expansion.  An anonymous gift of $50,000 retired all debt on the new building. The name of the library was changed from the "Paducah Area Public Library" to the "Paducah Public Library."
 1982 Interior renovations included rearrangements for the expansion of the reference collection area and a ten percent increase in general collection space.  The children's collection was expanded and relocated to the second floor.  Additional work, study, storage, and administrative space were also part of the redesign.
 1992 Major renovation of the interior of the library included installation of the Innovative online computer system.  Increased funding by the McCracken County Fiscal Court and continued support from the City of Paducah provided additional upgrades.
 1999 McCracken County Fiscal Court established the McCracken County Public Library Taxing District.
 2000 The name of the Library was changed to McCracken County Public Library.
 2002 The Library won the Best of Show Award at the American Library Association Annual Conference for the public relations video Library Lady.
 2004 Marie Liang, Library Director, receives the "Outstanding Public Library Service Award" and the Library receives the "Comprehensive Level Award," the only library in the state to reach this highest level of Certification Standards. A new addition, containing a new community meeting room, quiet reading room, and redesigned Special Collections department was opened to the public.  The Library celebrates a century of service to the Paducah-McCracken County area.