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On November 19, 1968, the Columbus Metropolitan Library dedicated the first public library in the nation named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After King’s assassination on April 4, 1968, the East Side Community Council requested that the new library being planned for the King-Lincoln Bronzeville community bear his name. The King family had both family and civic ties to Columbus and were honored by the tribute. More than 1,000 people gathered outside 1600 E. Long Street to hear Martin Luther King Sr. deliver the November dedication speech. Continuing the King family tradition, Martin Luther King III cut the ribbon to open a new branch building at 1487 E. Long Street on October 18, 2018. The Martin Luther King Branch was the first Columbus public library to bear an individual’s name.