In 1912, the president of the Public Library Association in Paulding requested funding from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie to build a library in Paulding. The Carnegie Corporation of New York at first refused because it provided funding only to communities with larger populations, but when the Library Association said the library would serve the entire county, which had a larger population, the request was granted. Paulding then became the site of the first county Carnegie library in the United States, built at a total cost of $40,000. Carnegie provided funding for 2,811 libraries, of which 1,946 were built in the United States. Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, the Paulding County Carnegie Library continues to serve the needs of all citizens of Paulding County.