The stone and brick structure built in 1912 was funded by both a local tax and a $5,000 grant from the Carnegie Foundation. From 1912 through 1995 it served the community as the Osborne Carnegie Library. In 1987 the building was placed on both the National & Kansas Registers of Historic Places. In the early 1990's the library was slated to be torn down, but in 1995 the Osborne County Genealogical
& Historical Society accepted the challenge of raising the nearly $100,000 needed to save and renovate the building. This difficult renovation project was completed largely with private donations and dedication ceremonies celebrating the library’s reopening was held in May 2001. Currently the building serves as the headquarters of the OCGHS and the center of genealogical/historical research. The Osborne County Genealogical & Historical Society is the official custodian of many tax records donated by the Osborne County Commissioners. To date a variety of county records dating from 1871 to 1925 have been transferred from various storerooms in the Osborne County Courthouse to the shelves located in the lower level. The monumental task of sorting, scanning, and cataloging, all the documents and photographs now housed in the Library. Families and organizations with no space to store their photographs, official records, and other materials are encouraged to deposit them for safekeeping in the Carnegie.
