Wikipedia

Main Library (San Francisco)

The Main Library is the primary library of the San Francisco Public Library, located in San Francisco's Civic Center.

San Francisco Main Library
The library's exterior in 2008
San Francisco Main Library is located in San Francisco
San Francisco Main Library
San Francisco Main Library
Location within San Francisco
General information
TypePublic Library
Architectural styleBeaux-Arts Revival[1][2]
Location100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, California
94102
Coordinates37°46′45″N 122°25′05″W / 37.7790861°N 122.4179848°W / 37.7790861; -122.4179848
OpeningApril 18, 1996
Cost$109.5 million
OwnerSan Francisco Public Library
Technical details
Floor count7
Floor area376,000 sq ft (34,900 m2)
Design and construction
ArchitectsPei Cobb Freed & Partners and Simon Martin-Vegue Winkelstein Moris[2]
DeveloperSan Francisco Public Library

History

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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.[3] Construction on the current Main Library began on March 15, 1993, financed by a US$109.5 million bond measure.[4] 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 376,000 square feet (34,900 m2) 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.[4] 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.[5]

In October 1996 author Nicholson Baker wrote a critical article in The New Yorker 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.[6] Due to this negative publicity, the library released an official response to Nicholson's New Yorker article, criticizing his claims.[5] 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,[7] all of which occurred away from public sight or review. Later, under intense pressure that included then Mayor 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.[8]

San Francisco History Center

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The San Francisco History Center house over two million historical photos,[9] postcards, negatives, glass plates,[10] oral histories,[11] ephemera,[12] correspondence,[13] and other materials.[14] The Center houses a punk rock archive[15] and is the designated archive of the City and County of San Francisco.[16] There is additional archival storage below civic center plaza.[12] The Center is on the sixth floor and sometimes houses art collections of materials curated from its archives in the hallway just outside its entrance.[17]

Art

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The main library has hosted art exhibits in the Jewett Gallery and Skylight Gallery, on subjects such as Japanese Tattoo art,[18][19] skateboarding in San Francisco,[20] watercolors of neighborhoods by a local artist,[21] and copier art.[22] The library also has permanent exhibits[23] such as a monument to Maya Angelou[24] and a five-story green wall inside the atrium that features the names of 160 authors in LED lights created by Nayland Blake.[25]

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References

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  1. ↑ "Architecture of the Main Library". San Francisco Public Library. Retrieved October 14, 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Warm interior caught in a cold facade". San Francisco Examiner. April 15, 1996. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  3. ↑ 125th Anniversary Timeline History Archived 2006-03-01 at the Wayback Machine of the San Francisco Public Library
  4. 1 2 "Other Facts about the Building". San Francisco Public Library. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  5. 1 2 "San Francisco Public Library challenges accuracy of The New Yorker's "Author vs. the Library"". October 11, 1996. Archived from the original on December 3, 1998. Retrieved December 10, 2006.
  6. ↑ Baker, Nicholson (October 14, 1996). "Letter from San Francisco: The Author vs. The Library". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 25, 2008.
  7. ↑ Wildermuth, John (January 5, 2000). "Cost of Redoing S.F. Main Library Put at $28 million/Report notes lacks of shelf space". The San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 10, 2006.
  8. ↑ "Filming locations for City of Angels (1998)".
  9. ↑ Hotchkiss, Sarah (June 3, 2024). "A Fresh Look at San Francisco's Starring Hollywood Roles | KQED". www.kqed.org. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  10. ↑ Duncan, Kathleen (January 22, 2017). "Historical detective on the case at SF Library". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  11. ↑ Schwartz, Katrina (April 18, 2024). "Stunning Archival Photos of the 1906 Earthquake and Fire | KQED". www.kqed.org. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  12. 1 2 Knight, Heather (February 2, 2009). "S.F. archive gets grant to preserve ephemera". SFGATE. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  13. ↑ Chen, Shawna (July 5, 2023). ""End of an era": San Francisco's city archivist says farewell after 28 years". Axios. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  14. ↑ SF, Total (July 7, 2023). "Listen: Secrets of the S.F. Public Library archive". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  15. ↑ Alexandra, Rae (June 23, 2023). "'Hit Girls' Explores Early, Female-Led Bay Area Punk at the San Francisco Library". www.kqed.org. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  16. ↑ Goldstein, Susan (2019). "The Daniel E. Koshland San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library". California History. 96 (1): 49–51. ISSN 0162-2897.
  17. ↑ Alexandra, Rae (March 17, 2023). "Two SFPL Shows Look for Humanity in City Mugshots and Official IDs". www.kqed.org. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
  18. ↑ Lopez, Nadia (October 2, 2025). ""American Irezumi" debuts at the San Francisco Public Library". Axios. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Japanese tattoo exhibition opens at San Francisco Main Library - CBS San Francisco". www.cbsnews.com. October 2, 2025. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  20. ↑ Rosato Jr., Joe (February 21, 2025). "New SF library exhibit wheels out the long history of the city's skateboard scene". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  21. ↑ Salazar, James (September 15, 2022). "S.F. Public Library showcases artist's love letters to The City". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  22. ↑ Salazar, James (January 12, 2023). "SFPL presents history of Bay Area's color copier art". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Art Works of the Main Library". sfpl.org. Archived from the original on April 16, 2026. Retrieved April 21, 2026.
  24. ↑ Torrez, Andre (September 19, 2024). "Maya Angelou monument unveiled at San Francisco Public Library". KTVU FOX 2. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
  25. ↑ Whiting, Sam (April 7, 1996). "What's in a Name? / Sculpture illuminates authors' bylines". SFGATE. Retrieved April 20, 2026.
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