{"id":367,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-04-17 19:32:07","latitude":41.22111699999999956389729049988090991973876953125,"longitude":-111.96445199999999431383912451565265655517578125,"title":"The Weber County Library","subtitle":"","fullsize":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/c5f42b20feee5356f77958143d78f58b.jpg","address":"","all_locations":[],"zoom":14,"creator":["Madison Alldredge and Steven Sanchez, Weber State University"],"description":"

The Weber County Library replaced the Ogden Carnegie Free Library (26th and Washington  Boulevard) which could no longer meet the needs of the city and county. The Carnegie  Library served Ogden City and Weber County from  1903 to 1969.  In 1962, a plan to create a consolidated city and county library system was introduced to the Ogden City Council. Also in 1962, the library board established the Friends of the Library organization which became instrumental in supporting the library and shepherding the design and construction of the new building to completion. In 1963, chair Frank M Browning successfully cosponsored a bill in the Utah legislature that changed state laws to allow for the creation of countywide library systems and the levy of a countywide tax to pay for library operations.

\n

A significant obstacle was the debate about where the new  library would be constructed. The debate was between Ogden's City Council, the Weber County  Library Board, and County's Commission chairman, Bud Faverio. Three building sites were proposed: the site of the Carnegie Library, 25th Street between Kiesal and Grand Avenues, and Lester Park. The latter was finally agreed upon. 

\n

The design of the building was by local architect John L. Piers (1922-1997). He used the New Formalist style popular at the time, as well as elements of the Brutalist style that was just gaining popularity. Piers made a distinct effort to collaborate with architects and design teams outside of the state and to incorporate national architectural trends into his design.The library took six years from 1962 to 1968 to open at 2464 Jefferson Avenue in Ogden. The Weber County Library became the new community library for Ogden and branch libraries were built within Weber County over time, the first county-wide system in Utah.

In 2011, an electric box within the building failed, almost catching the building on fire.  Soon the waterproofing started to fail. More infrastructure problems led the county to fund a multi-branch remodel. The  renovation extended from 2014 to 2018, and architects preserved key features of the building. The staff of the library continued to provide community-based programs throughout the remodeling. Sine the remodel, the library remains an important pillar in Weber County. 

","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":"The Weber County Library replaced the Ogden Carnegie Library in 1968. It has continued to serve Ogden and the county ever since.","website":"https://www.weberpl.lib.ut.us/about","related_resources":["\"Area Mayors to Ask Library Law Change: City Council to Appropriate Funds for Architect, Design.\" Ogden Standard-Examiner. 1 July, 1962.","\"City Council to Get Specifications on $1.1 Million Library.\" Ogden Standard-Examiner. 5 December, 1963.","\"Editorials: Plea for New Library.\" Ogden Standard-Examiner. 18 March, 1963.","From Weber County Library website. \"About\", available at https://www.weberpl.lib.ut.us/about.","\"Lester Park Gets Council Nod for New Library Site.\" Ogden Standard-Examiner. 2 July, 1965.","Lopez Jr, Jesus. Standard-Examiner. “Weber commission knocks $5 million off library bond.” 11 April, 2013.","McKitrick, Cathy. Standard-Examiner. \"Library bond could become a Weber County political issue,\"29 August, 2015.","McKitrick, Cathy. Standard-Examiner. \"Ogden’s Weber County Main Branch Library closing for renovation in November.\" 20 October, 2016.","\"New Library Site? . . . Still Undecided.\" Ogden Standard-Examiner. 28 May, 1965.","

Tillotson, Elizabeth. A History of Ogden. J. O. Woody Printing Co., 1962.

"," \"Utahn's Thirst for Knowledge Hailed.\" Ogden Standard-Examiner. 2 February, 1976.","

\"Weber County: A Good Place to Live.\" Ogden Standard-Examiner. 24 March, 1968.

","\"Weber Needs Library, Meet Agrees.\" Associated Press. The Salt Lake Tribune. Ogden Standard-Examiner. 1 July, 1962."],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/c5f42b20feee5356f77958143d78f58b.jpg":{"id":1523,"mime-type":"image/png","title":"Weber County Main Library, 2018","description":"\"WEBER COUNTY MAIN LIBRARY, OGDEN, WEBER COUNTY.\" National Register of Historic Places Registration Form, Utah Division of State History. https://history.utah.gov/repository-item/weber-county-main-library/","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/c5f42b20feee5356f77958143d78f58b.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/ee2e9ee3f83d0ad55fd8ca77faa02a77.jpg":{"id":1524,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Weber County Main Library, 1960s-1970s","description":"Gross, Peter. \"Weber County Main Library.\" University of Utah Digital Collections. https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6hq42xv","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/ee2e9ee3f83d0ad55fd8ca77faa02a77.jpg"},"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/fullsize/537427eb7149486797e5b8ec4d33eab1.jpg":{"id":1525,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Carnegie Library, Ogden, 1937","description":"The Carnegie Library in Ogden that was replaced by the Weber County Library in the 1960s. | Salt Lake Tribune staff. \"Carnegie Library, Ogden.\" University of Utah Digital Collections. https://collections.lib.utah.edu/details?id=572767","thumbnail":"https://www.intermountainhistories.org/files/square_thumbnails/537427eb7149486797e5b8ec4d33eab1.jpg"}}}