On January 23, 1938 the Wasilla Library Association founded a library with a collection of ninety-one books.  Over the next eight years, the library grew to a collection of 3,000 items, became housed in a 12x14 log cabin on Main Street, and was open to the public three hours a week.

Realizing that a larger library was needed, by 1950, with funds raised through various methods, and with donated materials and volunteer labor, the Wasilla Library Association received funds to help pay for a new library building; however, the additional funds necessary to pay for building maintenance were out of the reach of the Association.

As a result, the Wasilla Library Association approached the City of Wasilla, which had incorporated in 1974, and asked the city to allocate maintenance funds for the new building. In return, the Wasilla Library Association offered the city administrative offices within the building. The proposal was approved by the City Council. Ground was broken in 1977 and construction started on a 4,000 square foot structure. The building was funded with a federal library construction grant, which was administered by the State Library. The City of Wasilla provided 10% of the funds in a matching grant.

On February 2, 1978, the Wasilla Public Library celebrated its grand opening for the new 4,000 square foot building. Library services were provided by the Wasilla Library Association for the City of Wasilla on a contractual basis. From the opening of the building until December 12, 1981, the administrative staff of the city and the Association shared offices in the library building.

In 1985, additional space for the library was created by remodeling the basement of the building and adding on to the east side of the library. These renovations were done with state funding, and the resulting 8,247 square foot structure sits on .16 acres of land. The Wasilla Library Association transferred its library holdings, ownership and property of the library to the City of Wasilla in 1986.

The 1985 library expansion was projected to meet the city's public library building needs through 1998. However, due to the area's unanticipated population growth, it became apparent by 1990 that the expansion was insufficient. The City of Wasilla and library supporters have been steadfast ever since in their support for new facilities.

A new library building has been on the City's priority list seven times since 2006. The Council has formed three committees over the years to study the library building issue: the Library Options Committee; the Library Steering Committee; and the Library Needs Committee.  Three community opinion surveys have been completed (1992, 1997, and 2008); all with the same findings: the citizens believe that the library needs meeting room space, study areas, additional resources and more parking.  The City of Wasilla Comprehensive Plans from 1995 and 2011 have identified the need for a larger library building in the City. In 1996, the Friends of the Wasilla Library established a Building Committee while the City of Wasilla hired an architectural firm to coordinate the planning process for a library building, a community center, and an ice arena. That summer, meetings with the general public helped to develop and refine the public survey tool which was used for the library needs assessment.

In 1998, an architectural firm presented conceptual drawings and the cost estimate for a new public library to the City Council. The projected needs included a 42,000 square foot building and the cost estimate for the new facility, with optimal features, was $10 million. The Council decided to form a Library Options Committee to look at all available options for addressing the library's space needs. Ultimately, funding was not secured for the iteration of the project. Funding issues, both operational and capital funding continued to prevent forward movement of the project for several years.

In 2001, the possible relocation of the library to Cottonwood Creek Mall was researched. Then, plans were made to move the library into the Carr-Gottstein building, home to the Carrs Safeway grocery store. Ultimately, a lease was not approved.

In 2006, the space needs assessment was updated. The new needs assessment reaffirmed the inadequacies noted in the earlier assessments, and also showed marked deficiencies in parking, collection size, access to technology, reader seating, meeting space and work space for employees. In 2008, the City hired and worked with an architect to develop a Library Needs Program that included concept drawings. Even though there was strong Council support for the project, funding could not be secured.

However, a Library Steering Committee was established to investigate a joint library/performing arts building with the Valley Performing Arts group. The library's needs had been fairly well defined, but the Valley Performing Arts group needed to complete a needs assessment. After completing the needs assessment, it was determined that the need for each building was too large in order to provide for economies of scale by combining facilities. Valley Performing Arts has since found a new building without collaboration with the library building project.

In July 2009, it appeared that some Federal monies might be coming available for capital improvement projects within the City. Unfortunately, the grant request was not successful and no money became available.

In 2009, the City purchased the Meta-Rose Square building for use as a new library. Ultimately, it was determined that the Meta-Rose building would not offer enough parking or enough room to house a collection to meet the needs of the population; nor would it provide adequate access to technology, or allow for meeting rooms, work space or reader seating to meet the needs of the community in the long term.In addition, an architectural report determined that it would take up to $3 million convert the building into a library, and the library's operating costs would greatly increase due to the library being located in a three-story building. In the end, the City Council decided not to use the building for a library and "...the proceeds or net gain form the future sale of said property, over and above cost, will be set aside in an account for the use of a future library..."

In 2010, the Wasilla City Council created a new Library Needs Committee. Site selection and land acquisition efforts began. Twelve potential sites were identified, then narrowed to four sites that best fit the community's criteria. Ultimately, a four-acre parcel owned by the Mat-Su Borough, adjacent to the Wasilla Middle School and located at the corner of Crusey Street and Swanson Avenue was selected.

Once sub-divided from the school site, the land was transferred from the Borough to the City in December 2012.

In the summer of 2012, the project was co-sponsored by the Rasmuson Foundation and the Mat-Su Health Foundation into the Foraker Group's Pre-Development program. Subsequently, the Library Needs Committee began their work with the Pre-Development team.

The Committee met with the Pre-Development team over the course of the fall and winter of 2012. They have reviewed materials analyzing the population served by the Wasilla Library, looked at population projections, helped establish a space program based on levels of services desired, and provided input into concept designs. The outcome of this work was published in the Wasilla Public Library Project Development Plan dated January 7, 2013.