The Contra Costa County Library is the

public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil service, civil servants. There are ...

system A system is a group of Interaction, interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment (systems), environment, is described by its boundaries, ...

Contra Costa County ) of the San Francisco Bay , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = California , subdivision_type2 ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, United States. There are 26 community libraries including the NRHP-listed

Martinez Library Martinez Library is a historic library located in downtown Martinez, California that is part of the Contra Costa County Library system. History Starting in the Fall of 1883, the Esse Quam Videre Club organized to establish a free reading room. T ...

, access to electronic information via a website, over 455,000 cardholders and more than 7 million items borrowed annually. Its headquarters are in Martinez.

History

Founded in 1913, the Contra Costa County Library brought a commitment to widespread, county-wide service. Prior to this time, libraries for the public included the Martinez Free Reading Room and Library Association established in 1896 and the Richmond Public Library established in 1909. By the 1920s, there were over 40 branches and the Contra Costa County Library also provided service to 64 public schools. During the years following World War II, the library began to reflect the newly developing suburban nature of the county it served. In the mid-1950s, the library began an ambitious program to construct much larger branch buildings. This eventually led to the construction of most of the buildings that the library uses today. Between 1958 and 1974, 15 of the 21 library buildings now in use were opened. Among these were the county's first central library and the adjacent administrative and technical services center, which opened in 1961. At the present time, there are 26 community libraries and an online service available anywhere.

Service

The library provides both physical and online collections. Users require a free library card to access most services. Approximate figures for service use in the year 2009–2010 include 455,000 cardholders, and over 7 million items borrowed;Smith, Kamran (June 14, 2007
Library Hits 5 Million Mark
Retrieved 2007-09-10. 400,000 online subscription database searches, 600,000 items renewed online, 700,000 holds placed using the online catalog, 30,000 eBooks circulated, and 150,000 program attendees.

Other programs

Project Second Chance Project Second Chance (PSC), the Contra Costa County Library's adult literacy program, was founded in 1984. PSC offers basic literacy instruction by volunteers to adults. Since it began, the program has helped more than 4,000 people improve their reading, writing, and spelling skills. Discover & Go Discover and Go is a museum pass program developed by Contra Costa County Library in 2011 that provides California library cardholders with free and discounted tickets to local museums and cultural institutions. Discover & Go was awarded the 2012

National Medal for Museum and Library Service The National Medal for Museum and Library Service is an award given annually by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to American libraries and museums with outstanding service to their communities. The IMLS refers to the medal as "t ...

, the nation's highest honor recognizing exceptional contributions of museums and libraries. The program is still expanding with grant funding from the

California State Library The California State Library is the state library of the State of California, founded in 1850 by the California State Legislature. The Library collects, preserves, generates and disseminates a wide array of information. Today, it is the central ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1913 establishments in California Buildings and structures in Contra Costa County, California Contra Costa Link+ libraries Education in Contra Costa County, California