About the Altadena Libraries
Main Library
600 E. Mariposa Street, Altadena, California 91001
Phone: (626) 798-0833 | Fax: (626) 798-0833
Main Library Hours
Monday & Tuesday: 10:00am – 8:00pm
Wednesday – Friday: 10:00am – 6:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am – 4:00pm
Sunday: Closed
The Altadena Main Library, located along the historic Christmas Tree Lane, was built in 1967. A park-like setting surrounds the unique 25,000 square-foot, mid-century modern building, which was designed by famed architect Boyd Georgi.
Bob Lucas Branch
2659 Lincoln Avenue, Altadena, California 91001
Phone: (626) 798-8338
Bob Lucas Branch Hours
Monday – Friday: 10:00am – 6:00pm
Weekends: Closed
The Bob Lucas Memorial Branch Library at 2659 Lincoln Avenue, in which the District Literacy Services are housed, was dedicated on the current site in 1957 and was originally called the Arroyo Seco Branch Library. It was closed after Proposition 13 was passed in 1978 and reopened in 1991 at which time its name was changed to the Bob Lucas Memorial Branch Library and Literacy Center.
Our Mission:
The Altadena Library District brings people and ideas together.
Our Vision:
An Altadena where all are learning, growing, and thriving together
Our Values:
Equity | Innovation | Empathy
Learn more about our mission, vision, and values in our Strategic Plan.
Land Acknowledgment:
The Altadena Library District acknowledges its presence on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded land of the Gabrielino Tongva peoples. Altadena is located on the stolen homelands of the Xaxaamonga (Hahamongna) tribal band. The traditional territory of the Gabrielino Tongva is referred to as Tovaangar, which includes the areas currently known as Los Angeles County, Riverside County, West San Bernardino County, parts of Orange County as well as the four southern Channel Islands.
Entities such as the U.S. government and non-Native settlers have subjected the Gabrielino Tongva peoples to historic and continuing injustices, including genocide, forced displacement, and cultural and linguistic erasure.
Altadena Library commits to learning, educating, and informing its staff and residents of present-day Altadena about the rich histories, vibrant communities, and culture of Gabrielino Tongva people, present and past, through our collection development, resources, and program offerings.
Abbreviated Statement:
The Altadena Library District acknowledges our presence on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded land of the Gabrielino Tongva peoples. We commit to learning, educating, and informing our staff and the residents of Altadena about the Gabrielino Tongva peoples, present and past.
To learn more about the Gabrielino Tongva people, visit https://www.gabrieleno-nsn.us/.
History
“Altadena’s first library was set up in 1908 in the three room school house on Calaveras Street. It was sponsored by the Child’s Study Circle of Altadena (now known as the PTA) and consisted of a book shelf in the rest room and a bushel basketful of donated books serviced by teachers.” – Excerpt from Altadena: Yesterday and Today by Dorothy K. Hassler, 1969
How far the Altadena Library District has come in a century. From a single bookshelf, the Altadena Library grew to include an adult collection in 1913, through the efforts of the Women’s Circle of Altadena, adding a second location at the then Andrew Jackson School in 1918. The Altadena Library District became an independent special district in December 1926 under the provision of Sections 19600-19734 of the California Education Code. It now encompasses the approximate 8 square miles of Altadena, an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County.
The purpose of forming a special library district is to permit residents of unincorporated towns and villages to create for themselves an independent, locally controlled library district supported by property taxes and governed by a locally elected Board of Library Trustees responsive directly to the service needs of the community. The District contracted with the County of Los Angeles for library services until 1955, when it became independent, providing its own building, collection, personnel, and services for the District. Learn more about special districts at www.districtsmakethedifference.org.
Currently, the Altadena Library District provides library services to a population of approximately 51,737 people according to the May 2011 estimate for cities and counties from the Demographic Research Unit, State Department of Finance.
