Library Building Projects

November 2020 – Measure Z is approved with a vote of 72.35%.

September 2020 – The Altadena Libraries are awarded a grant of over $345,800 from the California State Library for electrical infrastructure upgrades, including upgrading backbone to 10 GB, WiFi 6, all internal wiring to 10 GB, two redundant host servers, UPS, Firewall, and other network appliances.

Spring 2020 – Town Hall Meetings are held to gather community input on facilities needs and priorities at both the Main Library and Bob Lucas Branch. An in-depth Main Library Master Plan and Bob Lucas Memorial Library Master Plan are compiled to prioritize necessary building projects and provided expected cost of facilities updates to bring both buildings into ADA compliance and to address potential safety hazards at both buildings.

Winter 2019 – The Altadena Libraries undergo a Strategic Planning process, incorporating feedback from a committee of community volunteers, staff, and members of the Board of Trustees to establish a new mission, values, and priorities for the District.

Spring 2018 – After professional inspection, a comprehensive Facility Condition Assessment is completed, identifying key ADA and deferred maintenance updates needed across the Main Library.

January – March 2017 – Two dozen Community Conversations with over 200 community members and a Town Hall Meeting with 150 community members in attendance are held across Altadena to gather community input about aspirations for our community, reduce duplications of effort between community groups, and apply feedback to Altadena Library District facilities, services, and resources.

Spring 2016 – Deterioration and distress of the pedestrian bridges at the Main Library are documented, with proposed repairs to maintain an accessible route into the library while also taking into account the original aesthetic and design integrity.

Fall 2014 – The Altadena Library District (ALD) Special Parcel Tax, Measure A passes with 85% of community support to authorize ALD to levy for 10 years a special parcel tax to replace library funding for library services lost due to the elimination of State funding.

Fall 2012 – A Geotechnical Engineering Exploration is performed around the Main Library to evaluate the engineering properties of the earth materials underlying the site with respect to construction of additions and renovation to the Main Library.

2006 – The library has a total of 24 computers and 2 phone lines dedicated to dial-up access. A year later, we have a T-1 line, Wifi service, a Passport application office and a website. An in-depth inspection identifies areas throughout the Main Library not meeting construction standards and out of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.

2004 through 2008 – The community shows its library support again twice to renew the parcel tax.

1994 – Library supporters mount an intense campaign that earns the library an 85% approval of a parcel tax to “Save Our Library.”

1990 to 1991 – Robert “Bob” Lucas, then President of the Board of Trustees, led a campaign to reopen the branch and secured the needed funds from literacy grants. In 1991, the branch is renamed to honor this African American author, noted as a long-time west coast editor of Jet Magazine, who says that reading is “the door to the world and personal freedom.”

Early 1990s – The main library boasts 124,000 books, but now also has one computer for patron use and a collection of large-print books, CDs, videos, books on tape and a flourishing literacy program. California cuts library funding to balance the state budget, and the library’s annual revenue drops by more than a third. Hours are cut. Purchases limited. Staff leave and aren’t replaced.

1983 – A parcel tax measure was on the ballot but fell short of the needed support.

1979 – The Friends of the Altadena Library campaigned to “Save the Library” but failed to raise the needed funds.

1978 ­– California Proposition 13 forced belt tightening, threatening the district’s existence, and the branch on Lincoln closed.

July 1966 to August 1967 – Altadena architect Boyd Georgi wins the competition to design the structure, with local landscape architects Eriksson, Peters and Thoms designing its surrounding garden setting. Construction of the 24,000 square foot building started on July of 1966 and is completed on schedule and under budget and the doors open to patrons on August of 1967. The library, an exquisite mid-century modern structure in a park-like setting, wins several design awards and is described in newspapers as “the most beautiful small library in the US.”

1965 – The library joins the Metropolitan Cooperative Library System making many thousands of additional books available to patrons and the district eligible to apply for federal construction grants. The $500,000 bond combined with a $250,000 federal grant will cover the construction of the new library.

1963 – A survey paid for by the Friends finds that Altadena has outgrown its main library and needs one 4 times bigger. The Friends help to get a bond passed to pay for a new library.

1961 – The Board of Trustees buys almost two acres of land at Santa Rosa Avenue and Mariposa Street, the former estate of Colonel G. G. Green.

1959 – Local library supporters organize to form the Friends of the Altadena Library.

1957 – The branch moves to a more accessible location on Lincoln at Ventura Street and becomes the Arroyo Seco Library.

1938 – Federal and local funds help build a new main library, designed by Altadena architect Frederick Marsh.

1936 – The Board of Trustees purchased a plot of land on Lake Avenue at Beverly Way.

1928 – The branch moves from the Jackson school to a building on Lincoln Avenue; the district now operates out of its own library buildings.

1926 – Altadena votes to establish their own independent library district, with prominent local citizen Mrs. Zane Grey serving as the president of the district’s first Board of Trustees. The Board soon purchases and moves a bungalow to the school playground to house the newly independent main library, though they still get books and personnel from LA County.

1918 – The county hires its first Altadena librarian and establishes a branch at the Andrew Jackson School.

1913 – The collection outgrows the basket to form a fuller collection of both children’s and adult books and becomes a branch of the Los Angeles County system.

1908 – The “Altadena Library” houses its first books in the form of a bushel basket of donated children’s literature in a local elementary school that has only 3 rooms.