At the beginning of 1900, the library moved into the Victoria Institute and Museum on Arawa St where it remained until 1940. It then moved into the Municipal Building on Fenton St (the site of the Rotorua Convention Centre) up until 1970.
The library then moved again into "temporary" premises in the Masonic Building on Fenton St, where it stayed until 1991 when it moved around the corner to its current location between Arawa and Haupapa Sts.
With the move to bigger, brighter premises issues increased by 50 per cent.
The mobile library service started in 1985 and continues to this day.
Mrs Gilbert took over as library manager in January 1995, but she has worked there for more than 25 years and remembers its centenary in 1989.
"One hundred and twenty five years is quite something, even more of a big deal than the centenary.
"I remember when I started here it was very regimented and very quiet.
"Everything was done by hand, we had typed catalogue cards but stamps in books only stopped in the mid-1990s."
She said in the last decade or so, with the advent of the internet, information was a lot easier to find and research.
"Encyclopedias were very popular and very expensive and the moment they were printed they were out of date, but I think things didn't change as fast back then.
"Because it's the 125th we will be doing lots of different things throughout the year and would love some community input into this."
Mrs Gilbert said local film producer Kerry Fowler would be putting together a video featuring the memories of past and present staff members and a staff reunion would take place in July.
She said she hoped the Rotorua public would be able to help throughout the year by providing their own memories of the library and ideas for events.