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The first Library in Brevard began in 1895 in Cocoa Village. It was a one-room affair, rented for five dollars a month. Local citizens donated the books and furniture. Annual dues were one dollar, and ladies in the community took turns volunteering as librarian.

Over the next 50 years, four more libraries were formed in Cocoa Beach, Eau Gallie, Melbourne and Titusville. In 1959, Florida Statute 150 gave Brevard County funding for these libraries and in return they agreed to serve all county residents.

During the 1960s, Brevard's population skyrocketed as people moved to the Space Coast to work for NASA and it's subcontractors. The Apollo project was in full swing, which successfully placed men on the moon. During this period the number of libraries in the county increased from five to nine. Funding these libraries became increasingly difficult as book prices doubled and maintenance costs steadily increased.

In November 1972 Brevard citizens voted in favor of a tax referendum establishing a Library Tax District to fund public libraries in the county, and the library system continued to expand. There are presently seventeen libraries in Brevard County, including the most recently constructed facility in Melbourne Beach.

There are currently more than 1.2 million books, some 60,000 videos and recordings and more than 3,000 periodicals in our system. Each library has computers that are available for the public to use. In the past year, more than 4.6 million items were circulated and the system employs a staff of 345 full and part-time workers. There are more than 250,000 members of the library service and the annual budget is more than $27 million.