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During the early 2000s, the library board and staff identified needs for a new facility. These included a new Young Adult Department, a Visual and Performing Arts Gallery, and an expanded Kansas Room. The Ellis County Commission warmly offered their land and in April 2001 the city voted to approve a sales tax for library improvements. The HPL Trust formed in 2000 to finance improvements and large-scale endeavors. The library raised $700,000 in private donations for a Carnegie Library replication exterior. Construction of the addition began on June 1, 2002, followed by renovation of the 1968 facility’s first and second floors. The grand opening of the newly renovated and expanded Hays Public Library took place on February 14, 2004.

The Old Carnegie Library was razed, and a larger more modern facility was constructed. The new library building was opened on December 8. 1968. In the years following its competition, the library prospered.

Over the decades the old Carnegie Library fell into disrepair. Space was limited, and safety was a concern with structural problems. Many believed it was time for a new and updated library to meet the needs of the community. A referendum for a new library passed on the first ballot.

The library association began negotiating for a Carnegie Library in 1902. A donation of $8,000 was received from the Carnegie Foundation in 1910 for the construction of a library building. Construction was completed, and the library opened to the public on July 22, 1911.

The Saturday Afternoon Club, a literary organization in Hays establishes a reading room as a civic project. The project was funded by $1 annual donations by club members for maintenance, furniture, books, and magazines.