San Diego County Library history

On March 2, 1873, following the disagreement with Horton and his withdrawal from the organization named for him, the San Diego Free Reading Room Association was organized, several members of the San Diego Library Association joining it.

The city of San Diego opened their first library in 1882.

The dream began in 1898 when James L. Gillis, soon to be the California State Librarian, conceived of the idea of bringing library service to everyone in the state of California.

On January 9, 1913, Jennie Herman, the former librarian of Tulare County, was appointed as the first librarian of San Diego County.

In 1915, the Office of the County Superintendent of Schools turned over the 3000 volumes of the County Teachers� Library to the County Library.

During 1917, branches with reading rooms were established at Imperial Beach, Camp Kearney, and North Island to meet the needs of soldiers.

In 1938, one was established at Vauclain Home, a County Tubercular Hospital.

In February 1940, work began on building a new headquarters for the County Library at 3532 Meade Avenue.

The first San Diego County Library campaign ran from January 12, 1942 to February 12, 1942 and raised 2826 books.

The El Cajon Library received an addition which doubled the floor space and Vista received a new library in 1948.

In 1950, branches existed at Alpine, Campo, Del Mar, El Cajon, Encinitas, Fallbrook, Julian, Kensington, Lakeside, Lemon Grove, Lincoln Acres, Ramona, San Ysidro, South Bay, and Vista.

Shortly after the downtown Central Library opened on June 28, 1954, the library began holding an annual "Music Week" that featured concerts, displays, distribution of booklists, and other activities relating to music and opera.

Vere Wolf, as he was more commonly known, had joined the staff of the Art, Music and Recreation Section as the third assistant Librarian on January 2, 1955, and was the Music Librarian for many years.

In fact, circulation exceeded expectations and reached the million mark in 1958.

July 1, 1959 would see the beginning of bookmobile service in Vista.

In 1960 Frances Anna Hahn, the County Librarian, stated that the County Library existed because: "Only through informed citizens can the United States maintain its position as a leader and it is the duty and function of the libraries to contribute to the education of all.

Highpoints included the establishment of an Outreach department in 1972.

The old library had been built in 1973.

The city of El Cajon finally received their new building after coming close to receiving a new building in 1978.

Also in 1984, the County Library began to automate their circulation and request system.

In 1987 the County Library set up six libraries on local reservations under the Indian Library Services Project.

In 1988, the County Library system celebrated 75 years of service to the public.

The new branch opened August 21, 1991.

In 1994, for example, a $5 fee for transferring materials from other libraries (Interlibrary loans) was initiated.

The Crest branch library was expanded in 1996101.

Where a large library would be open 62 hours per week before Proposition 13, in 1998 only one branch, Poway, was able to be open as much as 58 hours and that was only possible with outside funds.

In May 2000, the county Board of Supervisors voted to fund a $2.9 million Spring Valley branch.

Conceptual designs began for a new Julian branch in 2000. It opened on January 2, 2002.

The new Spring Valley branch opened August 14, 2003 next to Kempton Elementary School and La Presa Middle School.

The Julian branch, one of the 11 original San Diego County Library branches, opened in a new facility on September 14, 2004.

The $5.8 million La Mesa branch103 opened on June 16, 2008 and had a grand opening on July 19, 2008.

San Diego's First Library Originally published as "Library provided literary oasis for San Diego," by Richard Crawford in the San Diego Union-Tribune, June 6, 2009

Fallbrook�s long-awaited branch opened to the public on Sunday, January 16, 2011.