The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as Library Journal's Library of the Year award in 2018. The library is well-funded due to the city's dedicated Library Preservation Fund that was established by a 1994 ballot measure. The Preservation Fund was renewed twice, by ballot measures in 2007 and 2022.
History
In August 1877 a residents' meeting was called by state senator George H. Rogers and Andrew Smith Hallidie who advocated the creation of a free public library for San Francisco. A board of trustees for the Library was created in 1878 through the Free Library Act, signed by Governor of California William Irwin on March 18, which also created a property tax to fund the Library project. The San Francisco Public Library (then known as the San Francisco Free Library) opened on June 7, 1879, at Pacific Hall 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 at Civic Center. The first three branches opened from 1888 to 1889, in the Mission, in North Beach, and in Potrero Hill. In 1889 the Library became a Federal depository by nomination of Senator George Hearst.
In 1905, architect Daniel Burnham presented his plans for a new Civic Center for San Francisco, including a new library building. These plans were put on hold after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which destroyed about 140,000 volumes, nearly 80% of its holdings. The library moved to temporary quarters while a new building was designed and built. In 1917, the new main library building, designed by George W. Kelham, opened in the Civic Center. Ten major murals by California Tonalist Gottardo Piazzoni were installed in 1931–1932; four more were completed in 1945, but left uninstalled until the 1970s.
New Main Library
In 1986, a task force was set up to complete the design of the Civic Center, including the use of Marshall Square, next to the main library at the time, for a new main library. The building was completed in 1995 and opened a year later on April 18, 1996. The old main library, which was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, was rebuilt as the new Asian Art Museum. The Piazzoni murals moved to the de Young Museum in 1999.
History from 1990s to present
In 2018 Library Journal awarded it the Library of the Year award.
In March 2019, the San Francisco Public Library Commission voted to remove standing library fines and completely wipe out future fines because the fines serve as an impediment to access for community patrons who would otherwise use and visit one of San Francisco's twenty-seven public libraries. The vote needed to be approved by a Board of Supervisors and the mayor of San Francisco, Mayor London Breed was supportive of this action. It was approved and September 15, 2019, was the first day all fines were cleared.
Under the "Browse and Bounce” program, the public library began reopening its doors to visitors on May 3, 2021, for the first time since its shutdown in March 2020 due to the stay-at-home order issued during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The first floor of the Main Branch was the first to open with adjusted guidelines, such as an hour time limit and plexiglass between computers.
Branch libraries
In addition to the Main Library, the San Francisco Public Library has 27 branch libraries.
Anza
Bayview
Bernal Heights
Chinatown
Eureka Valley
Excelsior
Glen Park
Golden Gate Valley
Ingleside
Marina
Merced
Mission
Mission Bay
Noe Valley
North Beach
Ocean View
Ortega
Park
Parkside
Portola
Potrero
Presidio
Richmond
Sunset
Visitacion Valley
West Portal
Western Addition
Anza
In 1930, San Francisco voters approved a charter amendment to increase taxes to fund the construction of the Anza Branch Library. Using the site of the old Lafayette School, architect John W. Reid, Jr. designed and landscaped the new branch building. The new branch was dedicated on April 10, 1932, with 11,823 new books on the shelves. Total cost for the building and its furnishings was $57,117.29. Anza Branch Library was the 17th branch established in the San Francisco Public Library system. The branch closed temporarily for renovation in May 2009. The Anza Branch reopened on Saturday June 18, 2011.