The Poplar Bluff Public Library began in 1915 at a meeting held in the home of Mrs. M.C. Horton, president of the Bay View Reading Club. The library was originally a subscription library and members paid $1 per year for membership. The rapid growth of the library created the need for a new building, which was completed in 1936. The Missouri Library Association held its three-day state conference at the library in 1936.