Uniontown Public Library was officially launched under that name in 1928, but its small beginning actually dates back to 1912, when the Women's Civic League opened a reading room with the stated purpose of getting young boys off the streets.

The reading room was located in a small one-story building, measuring about 18 by 20 feet, at the corner of South Street and Beeson Avenue, owned by the school board.

It was equipped with one table, two chairs, some dominoes and checkers and 27 books! (Compare that to the 80,000 volumes in the library today.)
The reading room was operated entirely on a volunteer basis. Elizabeth Leonard took charge in 1914 and served for some 12 years thereafter. The number of books slowly increased under the impetus of an annual Book Donation Day.

When the small building was sold, the reading room moved temporarily to the YMCA at Main and Gallatin. Meanwhile, the book inventory had grown to 4,000