The Crawford (Nebraska) Public Library is located at 601 Second Street on the west side of the street, one block south of the downtown business district. The Library and its Board of Trustees are fully accredited by the Nebraska Library Commission. In addition the Library is an active member of the Panhandle Regional Library System and maintains membership in the Nebraska Library Association.
The current library building was the original Christian Science Reading Room and was donated to the Library Board by the descendants of the Hall family, an early prominent influence in Crawford's history. The Library moved from the upstairs of the present city building into the remodeled quarters in 1987.
At present there are separate adult and children's areas in the library as well as 5 networked public access computers linked by Mobius Communications broadband. The library also has a wireless connection available for those who wish to bring in a laptop. Library users may print from the public computers to a color/black and white printer unit. A library web site is available and contains many useful links such as the library online catalog, NebraskaAccess magazine services, children's services, information services, and a number of subject links of interest.
The Library's collections include a wide variety of non-fiction works, periodicals and newspapers, a separate children's collection and young people's section, a large collection of general and mystery fiction, a large circulating paperback collection, and many videotapes, DVD's and books-on-tape.
Regular story hour activities are provided weekly during the school year. There is an active association with the residents of the Ponderosa Settlement and the Villa to assist residents in obtaining library materials.
