Main Library (San Francisco) on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
The Main Library is the primary library of the
of the San Francisco Public Library Construction on the current Main Library began on March 15, 1993, financed by a bond measure. 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. At over and with six floors above ground and one below, the new library is more than twice as big as the building it replaced. The new library includes over 300 computer terminals, room for 1100 laptops, and a new wing for children. The city spent $104.5 million on the new library. Library visits doubled in its first year open, from 1.1 million to 2.1 million, and the number of library card holders nearly tripled. In October 1996 author
The Main Library is the primary library of the San Francisco Public Library
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 Journals ...
, located in San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
's Civic Center
A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, the ...
.
History
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.125th Anniversary Timeline Historyof the San Francisco Public Library Construction on the current Main Library began on March 15, 1993, financed by a bond measure. 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. At over and with six floors above ground and one below, the new library is more than twice as big as the building it replaced. The new library includes over 300 computer terminals, room for 1100 laptops, and a new wing for children. The city spent $104.5 million on the new library. Library visits doubled in its first year open, from 1.1 million to 2.1 million, and the number of library card holders nearly tripled. In October 1996 author
Nicholson Baker
Nicholson Baker (born January 7, 1957) is an American novelist and essayist. His fiction generally de-emphasizes narrative in favor of careful description and characterization. His early novels such as ''The Mezzanine'' and ''Room Temperature'' we ...
wrote a critical article in ''The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' about the weeding of books from the library as it moved to the new building. He was also critical about the elimination of the card catalog when the computerized catalog was introduced. Due to this negative publicity, the library released an official response to Nicholson's ''New Yorker'' article, criticizing his claims. There has also been criticism in the local press that the atrium significantly and deliberately reduced the amount of floor space available for shelving the library's collection which resulted in the destruction of over 200,000 books which were then buried in a landfill, gutting the research collections of one of the most important research facilities on the West Coast, all of which occurred away from public sight or review. Later, under intense pressure that included then Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
Willie Brown, City Librarian Ken Dowlin whose policy it was to weed and subsequently destroy the books, was forced to resign in January 1997.
The library was prominently used in the 1998 film '' City of Angels''.
References
External links
* * {{Authority control Beaux-Arts architecture in California Civic Center, San Francisco Libraries in San Francisco Library buildings completed in 1995