Thanks to a grant from the Carnegie Foundation, the first Hillsboro Public Library was built in 1914 on donated land at the corner of Second and Lincoln. The library eventually outgrew this facility and a Friends of the Library group formed in 1968, taking as their mission the building of a new library.  A bond levy for construction was approved by local voters in 1973 and a 15,000 square foot library opened its doors in 1975 in Shute Park when the City's population was 19,000.

The Carnegie building now houses a variety of businesses, including the Syun Japanese restaurant (see photo on their Web site), which occupies what used to be the children's area on the bottom floor.