State Librarians in the western states first met as a group in Juneau, Alaska in November of 1973 when the Western States Library Agencies Conference was convened. The group was officially incorporated as the Western Council of State Libraries in 1977 and has met continuously since that date.

Twenty-two state libraries west of the Mississippi River are members of Western Council: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.