Public libraries come into being because of the efforts of persons concerned with the well-being of a community. They  value the benefits that the resources of a public library can bestow, not only upon those who make use of those resources, but for the benefit of
the community at large. Those pioneering persons, the founders,  are truly the first friends of any library.They plant the seeds that those who follow may have a rich harvest.

It was December, 1899. Fort Collins was no longer simply the abandoned Army post it
had been 32 years before. It had grown into a respectable small town of about 3,000 inhabitants. Schools and churches had been established. It had a small college. Basic community services and utilities were in place for by then the town even had electrical service. Businesses were flourishing but the town lacked something; a public library.

A free reading room had been created in 1884, located adjacent to the old firehouse. A circulating library had also been operating out of the study of the Unitarian minister since 1889. For some concerned citizens, this was not enough. As usually happens, they formed a committee that organized the Fort Collins Public Library and Reading Room Association.

In a short time the new organization had acquired 500 books but had no place to keep them. The Association found rental space on Mountain Avenue but it had difficulties  paying the lighting bill and meeting other expenses. Early in 1900 the founders approached the town council with a request that the town assume the responsibility  for the books and provide the financial support for a truly public library. According to local author and historian, Ursula Lord, the council passed an authorizing resolution and a mill levy to support a library. On the first of March in 1902, the mayor accepted the property and in doing so created Colorado's sixth public library, a facility with 1,200 volumes.

Poudre River Friends of the Library is the logical successor of those  those 50 or so pioneer public-minded citizens. The organization was founded in 1939. It continues to provide  assistance and support for the  libraries of the Poudre River Public Library District . 

Ursula Lord’s  booklet, Fort Collins Public Library and Pioneer Museum, provides a longer and more detailed history of these matters. She points out how the city sought the help of the philanthropy of Andrew Carnegie.  He made an initial grant of $10,000 for a building with the proviso that the town provide the site and at least $1,000 for operating expenses. A subsequent request for $2,500 was made and granted.

Lord's 1976 booklet was sponsored by the Friends of the Library  to mark the dedication of the new library at 201 Peterson that replaced the old Carnegie Library that year. In the 1990's, library service for the southern part of the city was improved with the establishment of a storefront "mini" library on West Troutman  Parkway. It served until the Harmony Library  was built on the campus of the Front Range Community College in 1998. It is jointly operated by the College and  the Poudre River Public Library District.The newly created Council Tree Library opened in 2009  on Council Tree Avenue in Front Range Village  to better serve the southeast quadrant of the District.