Escondido public library
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 140,766 residents.
The library system consists of the Main Branch, the East Valley Branch, Pioneer Room, Computer Center, and a bookmobile.
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[edit] 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 building. In June 1996, the 13,000 square foot East Valley Branch was opened in the East Valley Community Center on East Valley Parkway. In December of the same year, 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.
[edit] Free WiFi (Wireless) Access
The library provides free Internet access points for users with portable computers or devices capable of receiving wireless signals.
[edit] First Thursday Concerts
The library hosts a monthly musical concert, with a wide variety of musical styles: zydeco, jazz, country, latin, folk.
[edit] Need for a New Library
The city of Escondido has doubled in population since 1980 when the main library was first built. Since then, the number of library card holders has quadrupled to over 100,000. Librarians answer 10 times as many questions. People check out 3 times as many books, videos and CDs.
With the growing population and the increasing demand for library materials and services, the library is running out of room. New services such as literacy programs and Internet access were not planned in 1980, so space was never even considered for these popular library activities. Closets and public meeting rooms have become offices.
The age, design and limited space of the building can no longer sustain the needs of Escondido's growing community.
