In 1911, residents of the Town of Whitby submitted a petition to Council requesting a by-law to provide for the establishment of a Public Library. Following a referendum, the Whitby Public Library by-law was passed on June 5, 1911.

In order to pay for the construction of a new library building, the Town of Whitby applied for a Carnegie Grant. Carnegie Grants were the philanthropic legacy of Andrew Carnegie, an American industrialist who started the Carnegie Corporation of New York in 1911 with the goal to "promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding." The grants were awarded to municipalities to cover capital costs of building public libraries.

To qualify for a Carnegie Grant, the Town of Whitby needed to provide land and form a board to manage the library and cover operational costs. The site for the Carnegie Library was purchased by the Whitby Old Girls' Association for $500. They donated the land at the corner of Byron and Dundas Streets to the library board and continued to donate $150 annually for many years after the library was built. The library board was appointed on July 10, 1911 with Lyman T. Barclay being the first elected chairman. Mary Fraser was named as chief librarian.