Public Libraries in Boise, Idaho
Idaho — United States
Public Libraries in Boise, Idaho
Two library systems serve Boise: the City's Boise Public Library ("LIBRARY!") and the independent Ada Community Library district.
2
Libraries
Libraries in Boise
Ada Community Library, Victory Branch
📍 10664 W. Victory Rd., Boise, ID 83709
📞 208-362-0181 · 🕑 Mon–Thu 9–8, Fri–Sat 10–6, Sun closed
Boise Public Library
📍 715 S. Capitol Blvd., Boise, ID 83702
📞 208-972-8200 · 🕑 Mon–Thu 10–8, Fri 10–6, Sat–Sun 10–2
The Story of the Library in Boise
The Boise Public Library traces its origins to a subscription library and free reading room that opened in City Hall on February 18, 1895. In 1902 the city applied to Andrew Carnegie for a grant, and a Carnegie-funded library building opened for service on June 22, 1905. Since April 27, 1973, the main library has occupied the former Salt Lake Hardware Building (built in 1946) at 715 South Capitol Boulevard. In 1994 local Flying Pie Pizza owner Howard Olivier proposed — and personally helped fund — adding an exclamation point to the library's name, and new "Library!" signage was unveiled downtown in January 1995, a piece of branding the system still uses today.
Separately, the Ada Community Library District was established in 1987 by a vote of Ada County residents who were not already served by a municipal library or existing library district. Its main library opened in southwest Boise in 1989, followed by additional branches across the county, making Ada Community Library a distinct, independently governed system operating alongside the City of Boise's library.
About Public Libraries in Boise
Boise is served by two separate, independent public library systems. The Boise Public Library, run by the City of Boise (and branded locally with an exclamation point as "LIBRARY!"), operates the downtown main library on Capitol Boulevard plus neighborhood branches. Much of the surrounding unincorporated county and southwest/northwest Boise is instead served by the Ada Community Library, an independent library district with branches including the Victory Branch. Both systems offer a free library card to residents of their service areas, unlocking books, eBooks and audiobooks, digital databases, computers and Wi-Fi, and children's and teen programming.
LiLI (Libraries Linking Idaho), provided free by the Idaho Commission for Libraries and funded by the State of Idaho, gives every Idaho resident online access to the LiLI Databases — thousands of full-text magazines, professional journals, newspapers and reference materials — along with resource-sharing services such as LiLI Express and ShareIdaho. Local card holders also reach eBooks and audiobooks through OverDrive/Libby via the Idaho Digital Consortium.
📚 What You Can Access
- 📚 Books, DVDs and audiobooks across both the Boise Public Library and Ada Community Library systems
- 📱 eBooks and audiobooks via OverDrive/Libby (Idaho Digital Consortium)
- 🔎 LiLI Databases — free full-text magazines, journals and newspapers for all Idahoans
- 🖥️ Public computers, Wi-Fi and printing
- 🧒 Children’s storytimes and teen programs
- 🏛️ Meeting and study spaces at the downtown main library and branches
🏛️ Quick Facts
| Public libraries | 2 (plus the state library agency) |
| Systems | Boise Public Library (City of Boise) & Ada Community Library |
| Main library | 715 S. Capitol Blvd., Boise, ID 83702 |
| Main library phone | 208-972-8200 |
| Boise Public founded | 1895 (Carnegie building 1905) |
| Library card | Free to residents of each system’s service area |
| State resource | LiLI (Libraries Linking Idaho) |
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