The library was originally founded by the Villa Grove Women’s Club in 1919. It was first housed in a building on the west side of South Main Street, before later moving to the building on North Main Street that would eventually become the Police Department.
In its early years, the library was run entirely as a volunteer organization by the ladies of the Women’s Club, and all of its books were donated. Ida Capeheart was appointed as the library’s first librarian in 1921. Many library directors have since filled her shoes, with the current director being Jackie Wells.
In 1965, the Illinois State Library was divided into five systems across the state, and the library became part of the Lincoln Trail Libraries System. This membership expanded the library’s outreach and promoted reciprocal borrowing with other libraries in the system. In 2011, Lincoln Trail merged with three other regional systems to form the Illinois Heartland Library System (IHLS), of which the library remains a member today.
In 1993, the library was relocated to the building that had formerly housed the Index Store, where it remains today.
