CSL in the Capitol
“The Library has a large dome-shaped room off the corridor of this [second] floor in the building and has been assigned rooms on every floor in the building and occupies about 20% of floor space of the entire Capitol.” – Secretary of State Charles F. Curry, 1910
The California State Library found a permanent home in the newly constructed Capitol building in 1869. The Library occupied the second and third floors of the semicircular apse, which had a magnificent, columned interior, radiating out from a centrally planned axis. It would remain in this location until 1928, when the growing collection found a new home across 10th Street in the recently completed Library and Courts Building.
Originally established to serve the needs of the California Legislature in 1850, it continued to build its collections. From 1900 on, the Library opened its collections to the general public, thereby greatly expanding its role. Furthermore, the operations of the State Library had been transferred from the Secretary of State and placed under the direction of an appointed State Librarian.
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Interior view of the original State Library in the apse of the Capitol, 1904.
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Interior of the Tulare County Library branch at the African American township of Allensworth, c.1910s.
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Cramped interior of the State Library in the apse of the State Capitol, 1904.
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State Librarian James Gillis seated at his desk in the Capitol, c. 1904.
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Interior of the library reading room at Army Camp Kearny, San Diego, c.1918.
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Imperial County Library branch at Niland which was housed in second boxcar from the right, c.1920s.
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Billboard acknowledging the future home of the new State Library, c.1920s.
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Architect’s drawing of the grill work for the entrance to the State Library in the Capitol, c.1892.
California State Capitol Museum – Out of the Vault
This is a website specifically for the “Out of the Vault: Treasures from Your California State Library” Exhibit which runs May 30, 2016 – April 23, 2017 at the California State Capitol Museum.
For Museum-related information such as contacts, hours and location: Visit capitolmuseum.ca.gov.