The Franklin Library was originally located in the Franklin School and administered by the PTA until 1938, when George Wellington Smith offered the use of a wing of his office on the corner of Franklin and Wellington. The collection consisted of 384 books at that time. G. W. Smith provided free housing and utilities for 22 years. The PTA turned the library over to an executive board and in 1940 the Franklin Community Library Association was formed.

The library collection was not cataloged until Louise Kawecki arrived in 1958. Over the next eight years she cataloged and processed the first 5000 books of the collection. Mrs. Kawecki petitioned the Village Council to include the library in its budget in 1959 and they responded with a contribution of $250, which was continued until the library became public.

The Library Association attempted to acquire the Old Church for a new home in 1960, but this was defeated by the electorate. When the Village acquired the current library building and the Village Green in 1961, the library moved into the main room and the Village offices moved into what is now the adult non-fiction room. In 1965 the electorate approved plans to add a new wing to the library along with a workroom and plumbing. This addition currently houses the children's area, Mysteries, Classics, Romances, and Audio Books. In 1968 the Village put a partition across the main room to provide space for the Police Force adjacent to the Village office.

The library operated as one of only five subscription libraries in the state until 1973. The library sold memberships each year until that time. In order to get state aid and join an area system the library had to be supported by a millage. The electorate approved this move and all the assets were turned over to the Franklin Public Library, which became a member of the Wayne Oakland Library Federation (WOLF) in 1974.

The Village offices and Police Station were moved to the Daniel Broughton House in 1976 allowing the library to lease the entire library building from the Village. In 1987 the Library Board voted to join WOLF automation and went on line in 1989. The expansion of the WOLF library association into more surrounding counties prompted a name change to The Library Network (TLN). Franklin Public Library continues to be a member of this network of libraries allowing our patrons the opportunity to utilize any library in the association.