The Garrard County Public Library has a long history of dedicated service to the citizens of Garrard County. Today's library is located on the site of the original Lancaster Library company, which was founded on March 5, 1814 with fifty-nine shareholders. The original librarian, John Yantis, checked out books on Court Day each month and received $1.00 a day for his service. The Lancaster Library company was dissolved on January 1, 1821. For a time, local personal and professional libraries were the only source for reading materials in Garrard County. The Lancaster Woman's Club purchased the brick building on Lexington Street in 1907 and a library was established in 1921. The Woman's Club operated the library until 1965, when the Rotary Club decided to rejuvenate the library and restart the Bookmobile program. In June 1968, a special taxing district was established for the library and it began to operate under a board of trustees. Since then, the Garrard County Public Library has grown and improved under the Board of Trustees.

The Library has expanded four times since the original building was purchased by the Women's Club. The Library received a new bookmobile in 2023 and it visits all areas of Garrard County. A strategic plan was recently adopted and is available at the library.