The Salmon Public Library was conceived in 1916. The Charles A. Norton Jewelry Store donated a shelf, and the Cultural Club, a small group of women who had previously exchanged books among themselves, furnished the shelf with books to be made available to the public. Eventually, the group, now called the Women’s Club of Salmon, approached the Salmon City Council to ask for assistance in forming a real library. Assistance was granted, and the Salmon Public Library was born and lived its first years in a small frame house on Main Street. Margaret Shoup, a daughter of Idaho’s Governor George Shoup, was the first paid librarian. A library board was formed, consisting of seven women.

The library was moved several times -- from the white frame house to the Shenon Block, then to the Cavaness Building, and in 1939 to a large room in the new Salmon City Hall. As the library grew and more was needed to keep it running, the County Commissioners agreed to help fund the project.

A fund, started in August 1975 with $500 left by the late Estelle Carpenter, was established for the erection a new library building on ground leased from the City. The property lay between the City Hall and the Lemhi County Historical Museum. Shortly thereafter, a drive was underway, headed by Dave Ainsworth. The realization of the goal of $40,000 in local funds was met and exceeded in a very short time. With help from the Steele Reese Foundation and a match from a $60,000 Public Library Construction Grant from the Idaho State Library, Salmon was able to complete the new library.

The Library still resides on this site today. Along with technology, the demand for other services continued to increase, forcing the library to find new funding sources. In 1996 the Lemhi County Library District was formed. The Lemhi County Library District Board consists of five members elected by the public. The board oversees and distributes the collected library tax levies and manages the newly constructed Leadore Community Library. The district board contracts with the Salmon Library Association to provide library services. The Salmon Library’s yearly budget went from $43,108 to over $136,000, and operating hours went from twenty-nine to fifty-one hours a week.