1884: The earliest library service was provided when Louise Ernestine Rammers Schimelpfenig opened her personal book collection to the community.
1912: The Webb Drug Store offered a book rental service.
1955: Gladys Harrington and the Federation of Church Women of Plano set up the first lending library in the Plano Community House.
May 3, 1965: Friends of the Plano Public Library was formed.
May 24, 1965: Plano City Council passed an ordinance establishing a municipal library and appointed a Board of Trustees.
September 9, 1967: A bond election passed providing $175,000 to be matched by Library Services and Construction Act Title III funds for library construction.
April 22, 1968: Plano City Council passed a resolution to name the new facility Gladys Harrington Library in recognition of her meritorious service.
June 2, 1969: Harrington Library opened with a book collection of 15,033 volumes. The library was 10,000 square feet.
1974: The rapid growth in population (92.8% between 1970 and 1974), the majority of which was west of Central Expressway, caused the Library Board to plan for a new facility in West Plano.
1975: The bond election, including $790,000 for a second library facility, passed.
December 30, 1977: A three-acre site was purchased for a library to be located on Custer Road and Country Place Drive. The library was named for Louise Ernestine Rammers Schimelpfenig to commemorate her efforts as the city’s earliest library service provider.
March 1980: A bond election was only partially successful, approving $307,000 for the completion of the Schimelpfenig Library basement.
June 2, 1980: Schimelpfenig Library was opened to the public with a collection of 25,000 volumes. The library was 26,246 square feet including the basement area.
November 17, 1984: The bond election succeeded in passing four issues for Plano Public Library System totaling $3,850,000. Included were funds for the acquisition of three sites, the construction of a third facility, and collection upgrades for existing libraries.
1984:The City acquired a 2.8-acre site on Hedgcoxe Road (west of Coit Road) for a fourth library facility.
1986: A site was acquired for a fifth library facility to be located on Windhaven Parkway between Midway Road and Dallas Parkway (Dallas North Tollway).
December 8, 1986: The City acquired a 6-acre site located on Coit Road for a third library facility through the generosity of the W. O. Haggard, Jr. family.
May 1, 1989: W.O. Haggard, Jr. Library opened to the public with a collection of 41,000 volumes. The library was 40,000 square feet that included a 20,000-square-foot unfinished basement.
January 26, 1991: The bond election succeeded in passing three issues for the expansion of Harrington, Schimelpfenig, and Haggard Libraries totaling $6.6 million.
July 1991: The Municipal Reference Library opened in Plano Municipal Center.
July 12, 1991: Coconet, a cooperative project between Plano Public Library System and Collin County Community College libraries, began. Coconet allowed patrons of one library system to view the catalog of the other library system.
November 1991: The Literacy for Life program began and was initially funded by a U.S. Department of Education, Library Services and Construction Act, Title VI grant.
January 1992: Dial-up access to the library catalog began allowing patrons to view library holdings and place holds from their home or office.
April 1992: Plano Public Library System added the Allen Public Library to the library’s automated system. This addition resulted in a shared database of holdings and patrons for both Plano and Allen citizens.
March 17, 1993: The library started notifying patrons by telephone for hold and overdue materials using an Electronic Notification System.
July 1, 1993: Ground was broken for the 20,000-square-foot Harrington Library expansion.
August 15, 1994: Harrington Library re-opened. Current size of the library is 30,000 square feet.
November 11, 1994: Self-check machines debuted at the libraries allowing patrons to check out their library materials.
February 13, 1995: The Circle of Success Homework Center began at Harrington Library providing homework assistance to students in grades one through five.
May 6, 1995: The bond election passed, providing $3,425,000 for the construction of a fourth library.
July 15, 1995: Internet access for the public began.
January 1996: City Council approved the purchase of a 14-acre tract on Independence at Caravan for a joint-use site for the fourth library and a police sub-station.
March 11, 1996: Haggard Library's basement area was completed and opened to the public. Current size of the library is 30,000 square feet with an administration-and-technical-services area of 10,000 square feet.
April 1997: The Collin County Community College’s three Learning Resource Centers of the Central campus, the Spring Creek campus, and the Preston Ridge campus joined the library’s automated system.
June 4, 1997:Ground was broken for construction of Plano’s fourth library facility, the Maribelle M. Davis Library.
September 29, 1997: The expanded and renovated Schimelpfenig Library opened to the public with 30,000 square feet on two floors.
May 2, 1998: A bond election passed, providing $5.2 million for the construction of a fifth library.
August 17, 1998: Davis Library opened to the public with a collection of 40,000 volumes. Davis Library is 30,000 square feet.
April 1, 2001: Christopher A. Parr Library opened to the public with a collection of 60,000 volumes. Parr Library is 30,000 square feet.
May 5, 2001: A bond election passed, providing $3.53 million for expansion of Haggard Library. The circulation and children's areas will be expanded as well as the parking lot.
October 15, 2003: Began participation in TexShare Library card program.
July 17, 2004: Haggard Library closed for expansion.
May 7, 2005: Another bond election passed, providing two million dollars for relocation of the genealogy, local-history, and Texana collections as well as fixtures and furnishings.
May 13, 2005: A dedicated Walk-in-the-Park mural was completed at Schimelpfenig Library. This project was funded by Friends of the Plano Public Library and Plano Public Library Foundation.
June 13, 2005: Plano Public Library System received the 2005 Achievement of Excellence in Libraries award from the Texas Municipal Library Directors Association.
December 11, 2005: Reopened Haggard Library with 40,000 square feet of public-service area on two floors.