El Dorado County Library

Hours of Operation:

Tuesday 12pm - 7pm

Wednesday 12pm - 7pm

Thursday 10am - 5pm

Friday 10am - 5pm

Saturday 10am - 5pm

Closed Sunday & Monday

Mission Statement

The mission of the Friends of the Library of El Dorado County is to support its libraries in El Dorado County, their patrons and staff; to support library and community outreach programs, services and facilities; to enrich the lives of El Dorado County residents by advocating the use of our libraries and to support our libraries through fundraising efforts which include memberships, gifts and endowments.

About:

The first public library in El Dorado County was a small Placerville City Library established in 1906 on the upper floor of Confidence Hall. The City Clerk's office was in the front portion of the room and when a patron wanted a book, he waited until the Clerk's duties permitted him to come through the gate separating the library area from his office to check out the book. A. S. Fox House (Library). The library remained in the City Hall until 1947 when a group of citizens began the work of establishing a County Free Library. With the help of the State Library, this early Friends of the Library group raised funds and bought the old A.S. Fox house on Sacramento Street. The library was moved into these new quarters in 1948.

In December of 1968, the library was moved into the old Purity grocery market on Main Street (now the Town Hall) to make room for the new Post Office on Sacramento Street. Although bigger, the market still was not adequate for the growing use of the collection. The county librarian's office was situated in the old meat locker. A federal grant and county support enabled the library to be included in the plans for a new Government Center on Fair Lane. In 1978 the new Main Library was proudly opened to the public. Consisting of 23,000 square feet, our present home continues to thrive as the library center of the county. The library has a collection of 140,000 items