On June 7, 1977, the Council of the Village of Duchess passed by-law #239 which provided for the establishment of a municipal library. Shortly afterwords, an agreement with the County of Newell was negotiated which provided increased financial resources and broadened the service area to include Division 8, Division 3 and the Hamlet of Patricia.

The members of the original Library Board included: Carl Bogda, Cathy Burke, Harold Burkholder, Oralee Grosfield, Ruby Hiebert, Owen Lake, Tom Livingston, Myrtle Miller, Kathy Plumer, Myrna Trimmer and Alice Walper.

As a result of their dedication and long hours, the Duchess & District Public Library opened in November of 1978. The public library was initially housed in the Duchess School Library. At the time of opening, the library offered a selection of 702 volumes and other services of Alberta Culture which included talking books, large print books and an inter-library loan service. The first year circulation averaged 235 volumes per month. From November 1978 to October of 1980, membership grew to 118 adults and 328 children. Mary Wilson was hired in January 1981 as the first part-time librarian to manage the day-to-day operation of the facility.

The library board soon recognized that its future would be severely limited if the public library remained in the school. As a result of space and accessibility issues, the library board began discussions with the Duchess Agricultural Society concerning the possibility of re-locating the library to the new Community Hall. This move was carried out in October of 1980. The membership ballooned to over 950 members and the circulation of materials was over 4400. The library started out in two upstairs rooms but was moved to the main floor to make room for an ever expanding kindergarten class, which shared its space with the library, and to have easier access for the elderly. Cathy Neufeld took over as librarian in 1986. During these years, the Hamlet of Patricia and Division 3 of the County of Newell developed their own Public Library, which they housed in the former School House in Patricia. They later re-joined Duchess and Division 8 to once again pool resources .

With the building of the new Duchess Curling Rink in 1987, the library was asked to move into its building as a cultural addition. Cathy Neufeld and several volunteers moved books box by box from the Community Hall to their new location in the separate, front area of the Curling Rink. Cathy continued on as the librarian until 1996. Anne Marie Philipsen replaced Cathy and remained in that position until 2004 when she was elected County Counsellor in Patricia, a position she still holds. Carmen Virovec began her job as library manager for the Duchess & District Public Library in 2004 and Shannon Vanderloh replaced Carmen in December of 2005. The library has seen many changes since its original beginnings in 1977. The membership base has expanded, as well as the circulation and selection of materials. The library's total collection is on a circulation software program and we have created a website for the library which will make it more accessible for the patrons. The Duchess and District Public Library continues to be an active and vibrant part of the community by providing a meeting place for a wide variety of activities and readers.

Members of the past and present library board: Terry Wilson, Charmaine Loewen, Beverly Bunney, Mary Wilson, Catherine Burke, Linda Ross, Connie Matthews, Anne Marie Philipsen, Cathy Schellenberg, Lois Schmidt, Carmen Virovec, Cathy Neufeld. Donna Billingsley, Wanda Greenwood, Joan Gramlich, Shirley Charlton, Brenda Gerstner, Sandra Peers, Monique Conners, and Lorna Fritz.