Salt Lake City Public Library system
Encyclopedia
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...
funded by Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
. The Free Public Library of Salt Lake City first opened on February 14, 1898. The system is under the direction of a library board and circulates more than three million items each year.
There are six locations: the Main Branch
Salt Lake City Public Library
The Salt Lake City Public Library system's main branch building is an architecturally unique structure in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is located at 210 East, 400 South, across from the Salt Lake City and County Building and Washington Square.-History:...
library downtown, the Anderson-Foothill Branch, the Chapman Branch in Glendale, the Day-Riverside Branch in Rose Park, the Sprague Branch in Sugar House, and the Corrine & Jack Sweet Branch in the Avenues.
Territorial years
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints oversaw many of the libraries in early Salt Lake City and the rest of the Utah TerritoryUtah Territory
The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah....
, founded in 1850. While many locals tried to promote public lending libraries, private libraries were the most prosperous in early Salt Lake. For many years private libraries were the only ones accessible to the people of the city.
Over these territorial years several groups attempted to establish a free public library, including a small group of women called the Ladies Library Association and a Masonic Order in the city. By 1891, the two organizations had acquired a stock of over 10,000 books, but lack of funding forced the two to donate their collections to the newly formed Pioneer Library Association. By 1898, another group of women called the Ladies Literary Society had successfully promoted a bill in the territorial legislature giving a levy on property tax
Property tax
A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality...
to public libraries in the state. Because of this law, the Free Public Library of Salt Lake City, the city's first government-run free public library, opened on February 14, 1898. Its temporary location was on the top floor of the Salt Lake City and County Building
Salt Lake City and County Building
The Salt Lake City and County Building, usually called the "City-County Building", is the seat of government for Salt Lake City, Utah. The historic landmark formerly housed offices for Salt Lake County government as well, hence the name.- History :...
, and the collection consisted mainly of a stockpile of 11,910 books donated by the Pioneer Library Association. The Pioneer Library Association also provided a librarian for the new library, Annie E. Chapman, for whom the current Chapman branch is now named.
State Street
By 1900 the library had outgrown its housing, and attention was turned to acquiring a larger, more permanent location. Again the Ladies Literary Society helped out by persuading the mining millionaire John Quackenbos Packard to donate land and money for a new location. The new location was at 15 South State StreetOld Hansen Planetarium
The Old Hansen Planetarium at 15 South State Street in Salt Lake City, Utah has served many functions throughout its history. Originally built in 1904 as the Salt Lake City Public Library, the building was renovated in 1965 to become the Hansen Planetarium...
in a building that cost $100,000 at the time. The new library opened in 1905 with a new librarian, Joanna Sprague, for whom the Sprague branch is now named. This building would serve as the main branch library until October 1964, when a new library was built at 209 East 500 South.
During this library's service, the library system was expanded to include eight branches. The Chapman branch was originally located at 610 West North Temple but moved to 577 South 900 West in 1917 when the city was awarded $25,000 from the Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York, which was established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 "to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding," is one of the oldest, largest and most influential of American foundations...
to build a Carnegie library
Carnegie library
A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to public and university library systems...
. The new Chapman branch opened on May 28, 1918. The Sprague branch in the Sugar House District opened in 1914, originally at 1035 East 2100 South, but moved to its present location at 2131 South 1100 East in 1928. In 1935 the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
dubbed the branch the "Most Beautiful Branch Library in America". The Main Branch library on State Street was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1979, and the Sprague Branch was listed in 2003.
Branch expansion
When this library began to outgrow its home in the 1960s, a new site was acquired at 209 East 500 South. The groundbreakingGroundbreaking
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are often attended by dignitaries such as politicians and...
ceremony occurred on December 28, 1962, and the building was finished on October 30, 1964. Though many old library branches were closed down during the latter half of the 20th century, several more were built. The Rose Park Branch opened in 1965, and the Corinne and Jack Sweet Branch in The Avenues and Anderson-Foothill Branch both opened in 1985. In 1996 the Rose Park Branch was replaced by the Day-Riverside Branch.
After celebrating the library system's 100th anniversary in 1998, taxpayers were asked to fund the building of a new Main Branch library building
Salt Lake City Public Library
The Salt Lake City Public Library system's main branch building is an architecturally unique structure in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is located at 210 East, 400 South, across from the Salt Lake City and County Building and Washington Square.-History:...
in downtown. Sixty-eight percent of voters approved an $84 million bond to build the new library. Several architects submitted plans, but the firm of Moshe Safdie
Moshe Safdie
Moshe Safdie, CC, FAIA is an architect, urban designer, educator, theorist, and author. Born in the city of Haifa, then Palestine and now Israel, he moved with his family to Montreal, Canada, when he was 15 years old.-Career:...
and Associates was eventually chosen. Ground broke at 200 East 500 South (on the same block as the 1964 library) in October 2000, and construction was completed on February 8, 2003.