Established in 1959, the Daniel Boone Regional Library (DBRL) provides public library services to three library districts:

• Boone County Library District (outside the 1965 Columbia and Centralia city limits)
• Callaway County Library District (all of Callaway County)
• Columbia Library District (within the 1965 Columbia city limits)

The Columbia Public Library is the largest facility and serves as the headquarters. Other libraries in the system include the Callaway County Public Library (CCPL) in Fulton and the Southern Boone County Public Library (SBC) in Ashland. In addition, DBRL provides these three districts with bookmobile service through the Outreach Department. Currently, the bookmobile serves eight towns: Auxvasse, Columbia, Hallsville, Harrisburg, Holts Summit, Mokane, Sturgeon and Williamsburg. The smaller Youth Outreach Bookmobile serves the following Columbia locations: Bear Creek neighborhood, Blind Boone Community Activity Center, Columbia/Boone County Health Department, The Intersection and Lunch in the Park during the summer.

The system is governed by the DBRL Board of Trustees, which is made up of 19 volunteers. The DBRL board serves as the governing body; the director, Melissa Carr, oversees the day-to-day library operations and the staff.

DBRL is funded primarily through property tax income. State aid, interest income, grants, bequests and donations, and copier/printer income make up the rest of the system’s revenue.