Pasadena Public Library Celebrates 140 Years of Service

The Central Library as it looked shortly after it officially opened for visitors, circa 1927-1928 (Photo – PPL collection @pdhc2019)

The Pasadena Public Library is celebrating 140 years of service to the Pasadena community with an exclusive commemorative video presentation that explores its deep history and essential impact on the community.

By News Desk

The story of Pasadena Public Library is best told through the voices of the people of Pasadena Public Library. To share that story, library staff from every branch, along with Library Director, Tim McDonald, joined together to illustrate the growth and innovation of Pasadena Public Library’s past, present, and future.

Watch the video premiere on Wednesday, July 17 at noon on YouTube.

During this commemoration, we are reminded of the key role the Central Library holds. Central Library is the cornerstone of the Pasadena Public Library, offering vital support to its nine branch libraries. In May 2021, the Central Library temporarily closed following a structural assessment that uncovered its susceptibility to earthquake activity due to unreinforced masonry. Learn more about the future of the Central Library, the necessary earthquake retrofit, and the significant contributions it is poised to make in the 21st century.

Pasadena Public Library’s History

Established in 1884 by a group of future-thinking community leaders, Pasadena Public Library has spent 140 years shaping the past, sculpting the present, and building toward a brighter future. In 1882, Abbott Kinney started the Pasadena Library and Village Improvement Society to establish a library in the area. Through his efforts, the Village Improvement Society was able to raise enough money to open the first library in Pasadena on Feb. 26, 1884.

As the community grew, so did the library, moving to a larger location in 1886, a newly constructed location in 1890, and finally landing in the heart of the city in 1927, where Central Library currently resides awaiting retrofitting. With the strength of a vibrant Central Library, the Pasadena Public Library system branched out into neighborhoods to create branch libraries as early as 1908, becoming one of the first libraries in California to offer branch services.

140 Years!

Library resources and services have evolved over the past 140 years to include nine branch libraries, virtual service, accessible technology, audio/visual collections, education-based programming, and much more. However, the Pasadena Public Library’s commitment is still the same: providing enriching opportunities to connect as a community and grow together through uninhibited access to information.

Throughout 2024 Pasadena Public Library will be reflecting on its past, observing the present, and looking to the future of continued service to the people of Pasadena.

Follow the celebration on social media @pasadenalibrary and the hashtag #PPL140. For more information, visit PasadenaPublicLibrary.net.