Sweetwater County Library System

Improving the Quality of Life in Our Communities

Library service in Sweetwater County began in the early part of the 20th century when residents in both Rock Springs and Green River worked to bring libraries to the area. Over the years, the Sweetwater County Library System has grown to include three main libraries and six rural branches and the Community Fine Arts Center. The library system provides service to the 15th largest county in land area in the United States.

In 1906, the Sweetwater County Library was built in Green River with a $20,000 Carnegie Grant. The library was moved two blocks east in 1980 to a 15,500-square-foot facility that is its current location. Besides the tens of thousands of volumes housed at the library, the facility also serves as the location for the business office, director’s office and outreach services. The building has been remodeled over the years to increase space for patron services.

The Rock Springs Library was constructed in 1908 with an $11,323 Carnegie Grant. It opened in 1910. The first major remodel of the library took place 44 years later followed by an expansion in 1965. In the mid-1970s, the building underwent extensive remodeling and an addition that joined the Community Fine Arts Center located in a former LDS Church to the library. The Community Fine Arts Center is a unique collaboration of the City of Rock Springs, Sweetwater County and the local School District # 1 that offers a permanent collection of over 750 works of fine art along with changing displays and a year-round schedule of performing arts programs to the community. In 2021, the Children's Discovery Center, a mini-children's museum, opened within the Rock Springs Library. The Discovery Center was the brainchild of volunteer Jana Pastor, who spearheaded the remodeling of the space with the help of generous donors and volunteers.

On February 28, 1987, White Mountain Library opened at the intersection of Dewar and Sweetwater drives in Rock Springs. The building was constructed at a cost of $1.86 million and has 26,300 square feet. The library also houses the Technical Services Department, which catalogues and processes library materials for the entire library system.

The Sweetwater County Library System has six rural branch libraries in the communities of Bairoil, Farson, Granger, Reliance, Wamsutter and Superior. Service has continued in some of these communities since the 1940s.

The Sweetwater County Library System also provides Home Services for residents in outlying areas in Sweetwater County and to residents in Green River and Rock Springs who are confined to their homes due to health, age or disability.