 The library was immediately very popular with the residents, issuing library cards to 1,700 patrons between January and April 1939.The first Salt Lake County Library Board was established a year earlier, in 1938, and members included Dr. C. N. Jensen, Dr. Calvin S. Smith, Alf G. Gunn and County Commissioner J. R. Rawlins.Ruth Vine Tyler, a former school teacher and Salt Lake City librarian, was chosen as the first library director.