San Francisco Public Library

The San Francisco Public Library is a public library system serving the city of San Francisco. Its main library is located in San Francisco's Civic Center, on Larkin Street at Grove.

The first public library of San Francisco officially opened in 1879, just 30 years after the California Gold Rush. Since then, it has moved several times. The first three branches were opened from 1888 to 1889, in the Mission, in North Beach, and in the Potrero Hill.

Early history

In 1877 a residents' meeting was called by Andrew Smith Hallidie who advocated the creation of a public library for San Francisco. A board of trustees for the Library was created in 1878 through the Rogers Act, signed by Governor of California William Irwin, which also created a property tax to fund the Library project. The San Francisco Public Library opened in 1879 on Bush Street at Kearny Street and hired Albert Hart as the first librarian. In 1888 the Library moved to the Larkin Street wing of City Hall in Civic Center. In 1889 the Library became a Federal depository by nomination of Senator George Hearst.

New Main Library

Construction on the current Main Library, located at coord|37.779081|-122.416363, began on March 15, 1993, and cost a total of $109.5 million. [cite web
url = http://sfpl.org/librarylocations/main/buildmain.htm
title = San Francisco Public Library/Other Facts about the Building
accessdate = 2006-12-10] The building was completed in 1995 and opened a year later on April 18, 1996. At over 376,000 square feet (35,000 square meter) and with six floors above ground and one below, the new library is more than twice as big as the building it replaced (which was damaged in the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989, and was rebuilt as the new Asian Art Museum). The city spent nearly $140 million on the new library.Fact|date=February 2007

The new library features over 300 computer terminals, room for 1100 laptops, and a new wing for children.

Nonetheless, the Main Library has its critics. In October 1996 author Nicholson Baker wrote a scathing article in "The New Yorker" about the weeding of books from the library as it moved to the new building. He was also critical about the elimination of the card catalog when the computerized catalog was introduced.Fact|date=February 2007 Due to this negative publicity, the library released an official response to Nicholson's New Yorker article, criticizing his claims.

Despite the negative reviews, library visitations doubled in its first year open, from 1.1 million to 2.1 million and the amount of library-card owners that nearly tripled. [cite web
url=http://sfpl.lib.ca.us/drafil/newyorker.txt
title=San Francisco Public Library challenges accuracy of The New Yorker's "Author vs. the Library"
date=1996-10-11
archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/19981203030313/http://sfpl.lib.ca.us/drafil/newyorker.txt
archivedate=1998-12-03
accessdate = 2006-12-10]

There has also been criticism in the local press that the airy and spacious atrium dramatically reduced the amount of floor space available for shelving the library's collection. [cite news
title = Cost of Redoing S.F. Main Library Put at $28 Million/Report notes lacks of shelf space
work = San Francisco Chronicle
date = 2000-01-05
url = http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2000/01/05/MN88734.DTL
accessdate = 2006-12-10]

Branches

As of 2007, the San Francisco Public Library has 27 branches. The newest branch to open in over 40 years is the Mission Bay Branch Library, which opened to the public in July 2006.

Those listed in "italics" are currently closed for renovation as part of the Branch Library Improvement Program. The dates listed indicate the year of opening.

* Anza Branch (1932)
* Bayview Branch (1927)
* Bernal Heights Branch (1920)
* Chinatown Branch (1888-9 as North Beach Branch, renamed 1921 as Chinatown Branch)
* Eureka Valley Branch (1902 as McCreery Branch, rebuilt 1962 as Eureka Valley Branch)
* Excelsior Branch (1925)
* Glen Park Branch (1927)
* Golden Gate Valley Branch (1918)
* Ingleside Branch (1925)
* "Marina Branch" (1954)
* Merced Branch (1958)
* Mission Branch (1888-9)
* Mission Bay Branch (2006)
* Noe Valley Branch(1916)
* North Beach Branch (1958)
* Ocean View Branch (1902)
* Ortega Branch (1956)
* Park Branch (1895)
* Parkside Branch (1936)
* Portola Branch (1928)
* Potrero Branch (1888-9)
* Presidio Branch (1898)
* "Richmond Branch" (1892)
* Sunset Branch (1918) -- reopened 3/31/07
* Visitacion Valley Branch (1934)
* West Portal Branch (1936) -- reopened 2/10/07
* "Western Addition Branch" (1966)

References

External links

* [http://www.sfpl.org/ Official website] of the San Francisco Public Library
* [http://sfpl.lib.ca.us/news/125/timeline.htm 125th Anniversary Timeline History] of the library
* [http://www.friendssfpl.org/ Friends of the San Francisco Public Library] - advocacy group