At the 1878 Laconia town meeting, voters raised $1,500 to establish a public library. Opened in 1879, the library was first located in a rented room in the Folsom Opera House Block. It moved to the Laconia National Bank building and then to the vestry of the Unitarian Church.
Napoleon Bonaparte Gale, a local banker, made provisions in his will for a public library where books, historical treasures and works of art would be kept and shared. Funds were also provided for the creation of a community park. In addition, John C. Moulton had willed a portion of his land on North Main Street, between Church Street and the railroad tracks, to the city of Laconia. This site was to be used for a public library or other public building. The city bought the remainder of the property as additional space for the library and its grounds.
Construction of the library began in 1901 and was completed in 1903, with the dedication in June of that year. In 1957 an addition to the library building was completed which included a children’s room, the Martha Prescott Auditorium, and a staff workspace area.
In 2005, the 1957 addition was removed, and a new addition built.