The Hemet Public Library is a

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 ...

in Hemet, California, United States which opened its current building in July 2003.

History

The library can trace its history back to 1906, when members of the Hemet Woman's Club wanted a place to gather and read literature, so they opened a reading room on the second floor of a bank on the Bothin Block. After the city's incorporation in 1910, citizens voted for their own library, and the new city took over the operation of its library facility. Soon, the upstairs reading room opened by the Woman's Club quickly outgrew itself. Woman's Club members—along with many other community organizations—campaigned to get a public building built to house a permanent library collection. The late Mrs. E. A. Davis composed a letter to

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

asking for the funds to help the community build a new facility. Mr. Carnegie responded by sending a check for $7,500. However, Carnegie placed a contingency on his donation: the City of Hemet had to contribute the remainder of the $12,000 necessary to complete the construction. The City of Hemet agreed to contribute the funds soon after. The land used for the first library facility was donated by Mr. and Mrs. James St. John and the library was built there on the corner of Buena Vista Street and Florida Avenue. Construction of the "Carnegie Library" was completed in early 1913. The Carnegie Library remained open and operated by the city for 52 years. The Carnegie Library was eventually razed in 1969 having stood in the community for 56 years. This made room for the C. B. Covell Memorial Library Building which began construction in March 1971. Named after Clarence B. Covell, a Library Board member from 1910 to 1920, the Covell Memorial Library Building was designed by Hemet architect James Calkins. The Covell Library was and contained approximately 60,000 items. By the start of the new millennium, the library facilities became too small to accommodate the increasing number of visitors from the growing city, and an expansion of the library was initiated. After months of construction, the City of Hemet opened its current facility on June 21, 2003. Designed by architect John Loomis of 30th Street Architects, the library is approximately .

References

External links

City of Hemet Public Library Home Page

Hemet Local History at the Library

City of Hemet Home Page
{{Authority control Public libraries in California Carnegie libraries in California 1910 establishments in California Hemet, California Libraries in Riverside County, California Library buildings completed in 2003