The Library was initially established by a memorial fund after Joyce Carver's death in 1966. It was dedicated as the Joyce K. Carver Memorial Library in 1972. Property was donated for the site of the library.

After the Library Friends was organized in 2005 as a non-profit 501(c) organization, donations "in memory of" were able to be received.

There were several donations from Sky Carver at the start of the organization.

Early in the organization's history (2008-2014), Dolly Farnsworth made several donations in memory of local library supporters:

2008 Kearney Wright Jr - $200

Meryl Rorricon - $200

Stanley McLane - $100

Alice Rasmussen and Hans Ronald Amundsen - $200 (for large print books)

2009 Helen Sholin - $100 (for large print books)

Denny Denbrook - $100 (for large print books)

2010 Troy Hodges - $100 (for library expansion)

Marge Mullen - $100 (for large print books)

2014 Tammie Brown Sikorsky - $100 (for large print books)

In more recent years, several donations in memory of others were received and occasionally designated for a specific purpose. It is the policy of the Soldotna Library Friends that any donation over $500 must be voted upon by the board. The board must approve the acceptance of any restricted or conditional donations.

2015 In memory of Dolly Farnsworth $25

In memory of Dolly Farnsworth $100

2018 In memory of Marge Hays - $500 (for materials and programming about tough topics for youth)

2021 In memory of Rosie Reeder $300 (for Alaskana books)

In memory of Rosie Reeder $50

Received $500 (for senior assist programs such as large print books or computer assistance)

In memory of Wesley Bridger Mitchell Thomas - $500

(for books for children and youth which support diversity and tolerance and/or the community meeting space)

2023 Received $500 (for support for banned books)

2024 Received $500 (for support for banned books)