Brookings Public Library
🏢 City of Brookings · Brookings, South Dakota
Brookings Public Library
Brookings Public Library — a Carnegie-legacy institution turned 32,000-square-foot community hub — connects this college town to its past through a floor-spanning local history room and to the future through hands-on Maker Lab tools and free statewide digital access.
🕑 Library Hours
| Monday | 9:30am–8pm |
| Tuesday | 9:30am–8pm |
| Wednesday | 9:30am–8pm |
| Thursday | 9:30am–8pm |
| Friday | 9:30am–5:30pm |
| Saturday | 9:30am–5:30pm |
| Sunday | 1pm–5pm |
Hours may vary on holidays; check the library site before visiting.
📍 Location, Contact & Directions
Address: 515 3rd Street, Brookings, SD 57006
Phone: (605) 692-9407
Website: brookingslibrary.org
Plus Code: 86P58653+8J (Brookings, SD)
📱 Scan for directions
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👋 Use the Library Online
📖 About Brookings Public Library
The Brookings Public Library has served its community since 1911, when the Brookings Free Library Association opened a reading room inside City Hall. A $10,000 Andrew Carnegie Foundation grant funded a dedicated building completed in February 1915 — one of 25 Carnegie-funded public libraries in South Dakota, the 1915 building is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and serves as the Brookings Community Cultural Center. The library moved to its current home at 515 3rd Street in November 1976, and a $2.8 million expansion in 1998–1999 doubled the facility to 32,000 square feet. Sitting at the heart of South Dakota's college town — home to South Dakota State University — the library blends deep local history resources with modern technology: a Larson Family Foundation–funded Maker Lab and a second-floor Historical Room housing Brookings Register microfilm from 1890 to the present.
⭐ What makes this library special
- Carnegie Heritage: the original 1915 Carnegie building is on the National Register of Historic Places (May 7, 1980) — one of only 25 Carnegie libraries built in South Dakota
- 32,000 sq ft campus doubled in a $2.8 million expansion completed in 1999, with over 160 volunteers helping move the collection during construction
- Larson Family Foundation Maker Lab: laser engraver (xTool P2S), Cricut, sewing machine, green screen studio and more — free for cardholders 18+
- Historical Room (2nd floor): Brookings Register microfilm from 1890 to present, county cemetery records, BHS and SDSU yearbooks, and obituary indexes from 1869–2017 curated with the Brookings Area Genealogical Society
- 96,283 books, 11,578 e-books, 8,511 audio items and 43 licensed databases serving a community of ~24,000 including SDSU's 12,000+ students
📱 Digital Resources — Free with Your Library Card
South Dakota State Library databases — including Academic Search Premier, Business Source Premier, Consumer Health Complete, World Book, CultureGrams and Gale Primary Sources — are free to all SD residents. BPL cardholders also borrow eBooks through the 80-member SD Titles to Go consortium:
📚 Services
- Book, audiobook, DVD, board game, video game and yard game checkout
- Laptop and desktop computers with free Wi-Fi
- Maker Lab: laser engraver, Cricut Maker, sewing machine, video/photo studio and more (18+, card required, reservation mandatory)
- Historical Room with local genealogy collections (2nd floor)
- Meeting and study room reservations
- Microfilm/fiche reader and printer
- Notary public service (free)
- Test and exam proctoring
- Printing (B&W $0.10/page, color $0.50/page), photocopying, fax and laminating
- Interlibrary loan via SD Share-It statewide network
- Mother's room
🎸 Programs
- Music Makers (children's music program)
- Reading Dragons (early literacy, children)
- 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten
- Birthday Books (donate a book in a child's honor)
- Teen Advisory Board and Teen Kitchen Activities
- Downtown Brookings Texting Tour (self-guided local history walk)
- Summer Reading Program (all ages)
- Adult Craft Instruction
📍 Nearby Libraries in South Dakota
Distances are approximate straight-line miles from this library.
All libraries in Brookings · Browse all South Dakota libraries →
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Brookings Public Library have a Carnegie library connection?
Yes. The original Brookings library was funded by a $10,000 Andrew Carnegie grant and completed in February 1915 at the corner of 6th Avenue and 4th Street. It served the city until 1976, is now the Brookings Community Cultural Center, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 7, 1980. The current 32,000-square-foot library opened that same November at 515 3rd Street.
Can SDSU students use the Brookings Public Library?
Absolutely. Any resident who lives, works, attends school, or pays property taxes in Brookings County is eligible for a free library card. With a BPL card you get the physical collection, 43 licensed databases, the Maker Lab, Libby/SD Titles to Go eBooks and hoopla — at no charge. Note that Briggs Library on the SDSU campus is a separate university research library.
What can I do in the Maker Lab, and do I need any training first?
The Maker Lab — funded by the Larson Family Foundation — offers a laser engraver/cutter (xTool P2S), Cricut Maker, sewing machine, GoPro HERO9, green screen studio, Kodak film scanner and more. It's free for BPL cardholders 18 and older. Some equipment, including the laser engraver, requires a one-time certification session before first use; reservations are required for all Maker Lab visits.
What local history resources are available for genealogy research?
The Historical Room on the library's second floor holds the complete Brookings Register on microfilm from 1890 to the present, Brookings County cemetery records, historical census records, BHS and SDSU yearbooks and South Dakota periodicals. The Brookings Area Genealogical Society (established 1977 and based at the library) has indexed all Brookings Register obituaries from 1869 to 2016, making this one of the most comprehensive local genealogy resources in eastern South Dakota.
📋 This library offers notary services. See what a library notary can do — what to bring, fees and appointments — and find other libraries with a notary notary services by state.
📜 This library has genealogy & local-history resources. See how library family-history research works and find other libraries with genealogy collections genealogy libraries by state.
🧰 This library lends a “Library of Things.” See what you can borrow besides books and find other libraries with a Library of Things Library of Things by state.
🔨 This library has a makerspace / 3D printing. See how library makerspaces and 3D printing work and find other libraries with a makerspace makerspaces by state.
📚 This library has study rooms. See how library study rooms work — booking, time limits and quiet vs group rooms — and find other libraries with study rooms libraries with study rooms by state.
🖨 This library offers printing, copying & fax. See how library printing, copying, scanning and fax services work — costs and mobile printing — and find other libraries that offer them printing & fax by state.
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✓ Hours & details last verified from official sources in September 2026.