The Denver Public Library is the public library of the city of Denver

The Denver Public Library is the public library of the city of Denver, Colorado in the United States. Its administrative headquarters is on the seventh floor of the Central Library in Downtown Denver. In 2010, the library had 2,288,842 items in its collection and a library card base of 339,883 local residents. In addition to its Central facility, it has 23 branches and a bookmobile program.

The library was established in June 1889 by City Librarian John Cotton Dana in a wing of Denver High School. In 1910, the library acquired a building of its own, called the Central Library, a Greek revival design funded by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie that was located in Civic Center Park in downtown. Between 1913 and 1920, Carnegie also underwrote construction of the first eight branches of the city library. Previously the city relied on traveling trunks of books. The city commissioned a new structure that is located on Broadway and 14th street and built by the firm of Fisher & Fisher/Burnham Hoyt. Burnham Hoyt is the identified architect of the north wing of the central Denver public library, built in 1955.

In 1990, 75% of Denver voters approved a $91.6 million bond issue to add onto the Fisher and Fisher/Burnham Hoyt building. The 540,000-square-foot (50,000 m2) structure was designed by architect Michael Graves and the Denver firm of Klipp Colussy Jenks DuBois, and is beside the Denver Art Museum. The building at 1357 Broadway was listed on the National Register of Historic Places 1990, as Denver Public Library.

The Denver Public Library has a large Western History collection, which began under the direction of City Librarian Malcom G. Wyer and includes 600,000 photographs, 3,700 manuscript archives, 200,000 cataloged books, pamphlets, atlases, maps, and microfilm titles as well as a collection of Western fine art and prints. The Western History Department holds the Otto Perry collection of railroad photographs, numbering 20,000 negatives from all parts of North America made available for viewing on the Internet.

The Western History and Genealogy departments merged in 1995 and are located on the fifth floor. The Genealogy department includes 60,000 books, 75,000 pieces of microform, and hundreds of magazine and newsletter titles, charts, clippings, atlases and manuscripts.

The Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library serves as an educational and cultural resource focusing on the history, literature, art, music, religion, and politics of African Americans in Colorado and throughout the Rocky Mountain West. The Library opened in 2003 and houses a full service branch library, research archives and the Western Legacies Museum, an exhibition space that spans more than 7,000 square feet (650 m2) and includes an African American Leadership Gallery, a replica of the Office of Denver Mayor Wellington E. Webb, and rotating exhibits which highlight historical periods, notable individuals and local Denver history.