The first reading room in Koprivnica was founded in 1846. Additional reading rooms were set up towards the end of the 19th century. In 1928 the Academics' Club Library was founded, that is to say, the first public library in Koprivnica was established. In 1945 the first Town Library was founded. In 1954 it became a town budget financed institution, whereas previously it had functioned purely on a voluntary basis. From 1980 until 1991 the Library has been a part of a Cultural Centre consisting of the Museum and the Open University. In 1991 it became an independent institution, named after Fran Galović, one of the writers and poets of the Croatian modernism (1887-1914), born in the nearby village of Peteranec and well known for his dialect poetry. The Mobile Library Service was set up in 1979, with the first Mobile Library being in service from 1979 to 2003, when a new vehicle was procured (beginning its rounds from on the 2nd March 2004). The reconstruction and refurbishing of the Library building took place in two stages: the first one from 1979 to 1981 and the second one from 1996 to 2003. ‘Storytelling hour’ for pre-schoolers was first implemented in 1983 and are in performance to this day. In 1995 the Library was awarded the role of County Library Development Service. From 1996 to 2005 the Library was headquarters of the Croatian Reading Association. In 2006 the Library implemented a library service for the blind and visually impaired as a pilot project in Croatia in co-operation with the Blind People's Association of the Koprivnica- Križevci County, which was financed by funds from the EU – i.e. the 2002 CARDS Program (Social Service Delivery by the Non-profit Sector).
In 2006 the Town Council awarded the Library the Plaque of the Town for exceptional accomplishments in the cultural field, and for executing various projects promoting and popularising of books, reading and literacy. In 2007 the Library began implementing the pilot project of digitising local cultural heritage i.e. the local newspaper «Glas Podravine», from its first editions in 1950 to 2007, becoming the first such project to be realised as part of the national «Croatian Cultural Heritage Digitisation» project.
The Library service for visually impaired and blind children and teenagers was presented at the World Congress of the International Federation Librarians Association (IFLA) as one of the four best practices in the world (Durban, South African Republic, 19th – 24th August 2007).