Safety Harbor’s first dedicated library occupied this building from 1949 to 1994, but the Safety Harbor Public Library began in November 1938 when the Women’s Civic Club established a library at the Community House, a small building for public meetings and events on 2nd Street North near the current location of the Rigsby Center. Miss Daisy Cahow, appointed by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) as the town’s first librarian, worked with scarce and costly supplies, and by January 1939 the Women’s Civic Club had obtained books for the few shelves. Mrs. Cahow organized a weekly Children’s Story Time and appealed to the community for gifts and loans of books, and in less than a year the collection had filled the small allotted space so completely that she moved her desk outside. During World War II, W.P.A. funding cuts left the tiny library closed for much of the week for several years. In late 1946, Dr. Salem Baranoff, after purchasing what is now the Safety Harbor Resort and Spa, learned of the city’s need for a library, bought this land, and donated it for that purpose. Ceremonies for the new building were held on November 18, 1949, and one speaker called it “a dream come true.” The Women’s Civic Club continued supporting the library through fundraising efforts until 1985, when they sold the property and turned over full operation to the City. In 1994, the City of Safety Harbor opened the existing facility at 101 2nd Street North, its front doors facing the Grand Oak named in honor of Dr. Baranoff for his contributions to establishing the city’s first dedicated library nearly fifty years earlier.