The first public library in Pitesti was built in 1869. In that year, Paraschiva Stephu made her will, by which she leaves 200 gold coins for building a public library.
City Hall agreed, and created regulations for its existence. They were aproved by the Council on 16th of March 1886. Along the years, the public library enlarged its collections with the help of the City Hall, but also through donations.
In 1904, the library gets, by donation, the personal collection of the historian Gheorghe Ionescu-Gion, right after his death. The library had over 1000 books, in Romanian, French and Italian. Ana Ciupagea (1865-1908),the wife of Gheorghe Ionescu-Gion, who was an actress, poet and translator, also contributed to this number.
The year 2003 brought a great joy into the hearts of the readers of Pitesti, because then the library has a new home, of 4.900 sqm, in which the public could have access to a large variety of information, training and relaxation.