The Library Arts Center is a regional cultural and arts center, where residents and visitors can observe, study and participate in the Arts. It has served the community since 1967, when renovations transformed the Victorian carriage house behind the Richards Library into a spacious main gallery with a small stage, a backstage gallery and an art studio on the floor below.

The Library Arts Center (LAC) operates as a separate organization, in facilities owned by the Richards Free Library, which is housed in an adjoining historic mansion facing the Newport town common. The Library Arts Center has its own governing board of trustees and a director who are responsible for all fund- raising and programming.

The Library Arts Center receives some municipal tax support however, it is primarily funded by membership donations, business sponsorships, grants from the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and The National Endowment for the Arts, the Newport Charitable Fund, fund-raising events and interest paid from an endowment fund. Gifts to the Endowment Trust from individuals, businesses and foundations help to insure and maintain long-term excellence in Arts Center programs.