| April 27, 1833 | First Library established in Lancaster. Individuals purchased stock. William Medill was secretary. |
| June 4, 1878 | A free library was established. The Board of County Commissioners rented the old county building to the Board of Trustees of the Lancaster Association. |
| June 25, 1878 | Miss Lavina Busby was appointed librarian. |
| May 1898 | Library moved to City Hall |
| November 1, 1940 | West Side Branch opened in a room on Washington Avenue provided by the West Side Civic Organization. |
| April 1, 1949 | Bookmobile service begins. |
| December 1955 | West Branch moved to 601 Harrison Avenue (4/1/01, Lancaster-Eagle Gazette article). |
| May 17, 1960 | Lancaster Public Library becomes Fairfield County District Library. |
| January 1968 | Library purchased Holzer property as a portion of the site for the new library. |
| August 1968 | Geneva Hudson hired as the first Children’s Services Librarian (4/1/01, Lancaster-Eagle Gazette article). |
| November 15, 1970 | Bremen-Rushcreek Branch Library is dedicated at 132 Mulberry Street. |
| February 1971 | New Harvester model Bookmobile is purchased. |
| October 23, 1972 | Friends of the Fairfield County District Library is formed. |
| January 1973 | Library purchased Meyer property to complete site of new library. |
| January 27, 1974 | Theodore D. and Emma G. Griley Memorial Branch Library dedicated in Baltimore as a branch of the Fairfield County District Library. |
| March 1974 | West Branch Library opens at new location, 503 Lenwood Drive, in Lancaster. |
| December 4, 1977 | Groundbreaking for the new library, 219 N. Broad Street, Lancaster. |
| December 7, 1977 | Construction began for new library, 219 N. Broad Street, Lancaster. |
| August 1, 1979 | Formation of the Fund Raising Committee for a new Main Library. |
| December 31, 1979 | $82,013 raised for library furnishings and equipment. |
| January 26, 1980 | Friends of the Library present Gala Celebration of the new library. |
| January 27, 1980 | Dedication of new Main Library building, 219 N. Broad Street, Lancaster. |
| September 1981 | Third Floor Gallery and meeting rooms open at the Main Library. |
| June 9, 1983 | Fairfield County Library Foundation was formed. |
| April 18, 1987 | Groundbreaking for Stanton D. Johns Memorial Branch in Amanda. |
| October 18, 1987 | Dedication of Stanton D. Johns Memorial Branch Library, 116 E. High Street, in Amanda. |
| March 1988 | Library institutes its first automated system called Unisys. |
| March 1989 | FCDL becomes one of the original libraries in the formation of the Central Library Consortium. CLC was created by four member libraries (Fairfield County District Library, Grandview Heights Public Library, Pickerington Public Library, Wagnalls Memorial Library) to establish, maintain and operate a computerized library network in order to promote resource sharing among member libraries and to increase access to information for their patrons. |
| September 29, 1991 | Groundbreaking for the new Baltimore Branch. |
| August 30, 1992 | Dedication of new Baltimore Branch Library, 205 E. Market Street, Baltimore. |
| October 1, 1993 | Library Foundation purchases bank building at 203 N. Broad Street for Library’s use as data center. |
| February 1996 | Library moves to Dynix for its online catalog and automated circulation system. |
| February 1997 | Internet access via Ohio Public Library Information Network (OPLIN) is available at the Fairfield County District Library. |
| April 1997 | Library opens remodeled bank building at 203 N. Broad Street as the Technical Services center. This facility houses Technical Services, Maintenance, the Fairfield County Literacy Council and the Fairfield County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society. |
| January 1999 | Bookmobile and its collection moves to leased facility at 438 S. Ewing Street. |
| January 1999 | Fairfield County Library Foundation purchased lot at corner of Spring and School Streets in Bremen for new Bremen Branch. |
| March 1999 | Renovation of Main Library begins. |
| June 9 & 11, 2000 | Renovation Celebration at Main Library. |
| July 18, 2000 | Grand opening of Books & Such, a bookstore inside the Main Library operated by the Friends of the Library. |
| September 23, 2000 | Groundbreaking for the new Bremen Branch Library at the corner of School and Spring Streets. Construction funded by the Fairfield County Library Foundation. |
| September 30, 2001 | Grand opening of the new Bremen Rushcreek Memorial Branch Library at 200 School Street in Bremen. |
| May 24, 2003 | West Branch Library closes due to budget restrictions. |
| December 19, 2003 | Bookmobile Service ends in Fairfield County due to budget restrictions. |
| January 20, 2004 | Walnut Township Library Station established in Millersport. |
| March 2, 2004 | A .5 mill library levy fails. |
| November 2, 2004 | Library passes .5 mill levy. |
| July 2005 | Foundation purchases property on Helena Drive, Carroll to build a new Northwest Branch facility. |
| October 17, 2005 | Groundbreaking for new Northwest Branch facility. |
| May 2006 | FCDL migrates to HORIZON as its automated circulation and online cataloging system. In addition, FCDL unveils a new webpage. |
| September 2006 | Return of Bookmobile Service. New 25′ Elf Wide Body vehicle is purchased with outside graphics designed by local artist Karen Henry. |
| October 16, 2007 | Dedication ceremony of the new Northwest Branch, 2855 Helena Drive NW, in Carroll. |
| November 19, 2007 | Northwest Branch opens to the public. |
| February 2008 | Wireless Internet access available at all library locations. |
| November 4, 2008 | Library passes renewal of its .5 mill levy. |
| December 2, 2008 | Walnut Township Library Station closed due to safety and accessibility issues. |
| May 1, 2009 | Library budget cuts at the state level necessitate the reduction of library hour and library services. |
| November 18, 2009 | CLC migrated from Horizon Catalog System to Polaris Cataloging System. |
| November 4, 2011 | Sold Elfmobile (Bookmobile). |
| August 2012 | Johns Memorial Branch Library renovated. |
| May 22, 2013 | Project Scoville – addition of Columbus Metropolitan Library, Worthington Libraries, and Southwest Public Libraries to the Central Library Consortium. |
| October 2013 | Main Library renovated with new paint and flooring. |
| November 2013 | Library passes .5 million replacement levy. |
| April 2014 | Reorganization & painting of Bremen Branch Library. |
| April 9, 2014 | Project Supersonic – addition of Bexley Public Library, London Public Library, and Upper Arlington Public Library to the Central Library Consortium. |
| August 15, 2014 | The Library purchases the Annex from the Foundation. |
| September 2, 2014 | New library website goes live. |
| September 8, 2014 | Grand Opening of Early Literacy Center at the Northwest Branch. |
| May 18, 2015 | New gazebo opens at Johns Branch Library. |
| September 2015 | Library Foundation Board votes to dissolve the Foundation |
| June 2016 | Early Literacy Center added to the Bremen Branch Library |
| October 2016 | Peter Rabbit Garden opens at the Northwest Branch Library |
| April 4, 2019 | Millersport Library Kiosk grand opening |
| September, 2019 | Library goes fine free |
| October 2019 | Early Literacy Center added to the Main Library |
| March 14, 2020 | All library locations closed due to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. |
| May 12, 2020 | All library locations reopen for curbside service. Library services continue to be impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. |
