Hemet Public Library
Encyclopedia
The Hemet Public Library is a public library
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...

 in Hemet, California
Hemet, California
Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California, United States. It covers a total area of , about half of the valley, which it shares with the neighboring city of San Jacinto. The population was 78,657 at the 2010 census....

, which opened its current new library in July 2003. The library is one of the newest libraries in Riverside County
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a county in the U.S. state of California. One of 58 California counties, it covers in the southern part of the state, and stretches from Orange County to the Colorado River, which forms the state border with Arizona. The county derives its name from the city of Riverside,...

, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.

History

The library can trace its history back to 1906 when members of the Hemet Woman's Club wanted a place to gather and read literature, so they opened a reading room on the second floor of a bank on the Bothin Block (once the financial hub of our Valley near the northwest corner of Harvard Street and Florida Avenue).

After the City's own incorporation in 1910, citizens voted for their own library, and the new City took over the operation of its own library facility. Soon, the upstairs reading room opened by the Woman's Club quickly outgrew itself. Woman's Club members—along with many other community organizations campaigned to get a public building built to house a permanent library collection. The late Mrs. E. A. Davis then composed a letter to Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...

(who was one of the world's richest men, and who has long been considered the “patron saint of libraries”) begging for the funds to help the community build a brand new facility. Mr. Carnegie responded by sending a check for $7500. However, Carnegie placed a contingency on his donation: the City of Hemet had to contribute the remainder of the $12,000 necessary to complete the construction. The City of Hemet agreed to contribute the funds soon after. The land used for the first library facility was donated by Mr. and Mrs. James St. John and the library was built there on the corner of Buena Vista Street and Florida Avenue. Construction of the “Carnegie Library” was completed in early 1913.

The Carnegie Library remained open and operated by the City for 52 years. The Carnegie Library was eventually razed in 1969 having stood in the community for 56 years. This made room for the C. B. Covell Memorial Library Building which began construction in March 1971. Named after Clarence B. Covell, a Library Board member from 1910-1920, the Covell Memorial Library Building was designed by Hemet architect James Calkins. The Covell Library was 11400 square feet (1,059.1 m²) and accommodated approximately 60,000 items.

As the City of Hemet continued to grow, so too did the number of citizens wanting to use the library. By the start of the new millennium, it was quite clear that the Library was facing growing pains once again. For years, the cramped spaces and difficult parking had made any visit to the Covell Library Building a frustrating and tiring experience. That would soon change. After months of construction, the City of Hemet opened its current facility on June 21, 2003. Designed by architect John Loomis of 30 th Street Architects, the library is approximately 52000 square feet (4,831 m²) and provides ample elbow room for all to enjoy.

Hours

In March 2009, the Library closed on Tuesdays due to budget cuts. The revised hours are:
Sunday Closed
Monday Closed
Tuesday Closed
Wednesday 9-7
Thursday 9-7
Friday 9-6
Saturday 9-6

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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