Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Escondido Public Library

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
Established
  
1894

Director
  
Loretta McKinney

Circulation
  
930,000

Branches
  
1

Phone
  
+1 760-839-4683

Population served
  
140,000

Address
  
239 S Kalmia St, Escondido, CA 92025, USA

Hours
  
Open today · 10AM–8PMTuesday10AM–8PMWednesday10AM–6PMThursday10AM–6PMFriday10AM–6PMSaturday10AM–5PMSundayClosedMonday10AM–8PM

Profiles

The Escondido Public Library is a public library system serving the city of Escondido, which is situated in San Diego County, California. The collection of the library contains 371,500 volumes, circulates 930,000 items per year and serves a population of 140,000 residents.

Contents

The library system consists of the Main Branch and the Pioneer Room (the Escondido Public Library's local history and genealogy archive).

2007 ecf grantee escondido public library


History

The library has been serving Escondido since 1894 when it was a private library located in the small building which now sits in Grape Day Park. In 1898, the City of Escondido took over this library's operation, making the library a City-funded department. With Andrew Carnegie funds and a gift of land, a new library was built in 1910 on Kalmia and Third Avenue. In 1956, because of limited space to serve a community of over 6,000, a new library building, now the Mathes Center, was constructed on the same spot. By 1980, Escondido had grown to 67,000 persons and the library incorporated children's and audiovisual services. Through the efforts of its trustees and City officials, revenue-sharing funds were set aside for a new facility. Library operations were moved in December 1980 into the present two-story, 40,000-square-foot (3,700 m2) building. In June 1996, the 13,000-square-foot (1,200 m2) East Valley Branch was opened in the East Valley Community Center on East Valley Parkway. In 2011, the East Valley Branch Library was closed and the Escondido Technology Center was re-opened in part of the original space. In December of 1996, the Pioneer Room was opened in the Mathes Center adjacent to the main library, and in 2000 the Computer Center was incorporated into this space.

Pioneer room

Located in the brick Mathes Center building next to the Main Library on 247 S. Kalmia Street, the Pioneer Room was established in 1992, with bequest from local historian Frances Beven Ryan (1901–1990). The research room and archives is a part of the Escondido Public Library that provides the community non-circulating reference material. The local history collection includes books, journals, photographs, and archival material. The family history genealogy research material primarily contains reference books.

Free Wi-Fi (wireless) access

The library provides free Internet access points for users with portable computers or devices capable of receiving wireless signals.

Second Saturday concerts

The library hosts a monthly musical concert (November through April) with a wide variety of musical styles: zydeco, jazz, country, latin, folk.

References

Escondido Public Library Wikipedia