The Rutherford B. Hayes Library opened in 1916, when the building in Fremont, Ohio was dedicated as the first presidential library and museum. The library's original purpose was to preserve the 12,000 volume personal library of President Hayes along with archival material from his careers in law, the military, and politics. This was a radical idea at the time; no previous presidential papers had been gathered in one location or made available to the general public. The library has grown from a small eclectic collection to an important repository of the Gilded Age, a period in American history from the Civil War to the beginning of World War I. It is administered by the Hayes Foundation and jointly funded by the Foundation and the Ohio State Legislature. The library/museum building has undergone two major expansions to adequately house its collections. Since 1937, there have been four directors of research, and each director has promoted the library's development. In 1984, two librarians were hired to solely manage library services. This paper discusses the growth of the library through the years, particularly the scope of the collections, finding aids, and the increase in patron use of collections and services. (Contains 88 references.) (Author/MES)