San Diego Central Library
The building's exterior, 2013
General information
Town or citySan Diego, California
CountryUnited States
Coordinates32°42′32″N 117°09′15″W / 32.7089°N 117.1542°W / 32.7089; -117.1542

The San Diego Central Library is the main branch of the San Diego Public Library, which is a public library system serving the city of San Diego, California.

Description and history

Lobby

In 1952, the Carnegie library was demolished and a new Central Library was opened at the same location on June 27, 1954. That library closed permanently on June 9, 2013, to begin the 10-week process of transferring its 2.6-million-item collection to the new library.[1] Over the years, many branch libraries have also been opened throughout the City.

In 2010, construction began on a new $184.9 million, 366,673 square feet (34,065 square metres)[2] Central Library at 330 Park Boulevard in downtown San Diego. This 9-story structure was designed by San Diego architect Rob Wellington Quigley. It is topped with an iconic steel-and-mesh lattice dome over a two-story rare-book reading room.[3] It opened on September 30, 2013.[1] The library displays numerous books and collections, including the Sullivan Family Baseball Research Center. The Center houses the second largest collection of baseball memorabilia in the U.S.[4] It was founded in 2000, with a donation of books from the Society for American Baseball Research. By 2012 its collection included thousands of books, films, magazines, baseball cards and other memorabilia. It was intended to be the "go-to place for baseball research west of the Mississippi".[5]

The Central Library also houses a charter high school, e3 Civic High School, which is billed as the only school in the U.S. to be housed within a library. The school is located on the sixth and seventh floors of the library and is visible to, but not accessible by, the public. The school serves grades 9 through 12. It opened on September 3, 2013 with an initial student body of 260 ninth and tenth graders. Additional grades were added in 2014 and 2015 resulting in a student body of approximately 500.[6]

Awards

In 2013, the Central Library received several awards. It received the National Award for Excellence in Structural Engineering,[7] and the Decorative Concrete Council, a specialty council of the American Society of Concrete Contractors awarded the library "Best of Show".[8] The Central Library also received an Orchid Award from the San Diego Architectural Foundation's Orchids & Onions Awards.[9]

Current events

Since May of 2018 there has been a noticeable increase in crimes and disturbances surrounding the San Diego Public Library. The Library has taken measures to counteract these incidents, including stationing up to 9 guards each day, trained to administer naloxone, used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose. According to news outlets in January San Diego police Lt. Ryan Hallahan told the news that they are increasing enforcement in the area going forward following complaints over the safety of children attending e3 Civic High inside the facility. In recent years the amount of calls the San Diego Police Department receives surrounding the Library number to at least one call per day.[10][11]

References

  1. 1 2 Moran, Greg (June 10, 2013). "Downtown library checks out". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  2. ↑ Facts About The New Central Library, San Diego Public Library
  3. ↑ Showley, Roger (January 19, 2013). "No flubs at library building site after 899 days". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  4. ↑ "San Diego's main library closes, clearing way for new one". CBS 8. June 9, 2013. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  5. ↑ "A hit: library's collection is major league". San Diego Union-Tribune. April 2, 2012. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  6. ↑ Magee, Maureen (September 3, 2013). "Central-library charter school opens". San Diego Union Tribune. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved October 6, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Central library gets engineering award". February 13, 2014. Archived from the original on November 5, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017. Central Library gets engineering award
  8. ↑ "San Diego New Central Library - Best of Show!". February 18, 2013. Archived from the original on January 4, 2016. Retrieved November 1, 2017. San Diego New Central Library – Best of Show!
  9. ↑ "San Diego Central Library – Orchids & Onions". orchidsandonions.org. Archived from the original on May 7, 2016. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  10. ↑ Winkley, Lyndsay (May 28, 2023). "Drug use, suicides, thefts, now a fatal shooting: Data show years of problems at downtown San Diego library". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  11. ↑ Herbst, Diane (May 28, 2023). "San Diego Library Plagued with Crime is Averaging a Call a Day to Police, Data Shows". The Messenger. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
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