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Sonoma County Library documents, 1869-<2017>
SPC.00001
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Title: Sonoma County Library documents,
Date (inclusive): 1869-><2017>
Identification: SPC.00001
Creator:
Sonoma County Library
Physical Description:
<60> linear feet
<60> boxes
Language of Material: Materials are in English.
Repository:
Sonoma County History and Genealogy Library, Sonoma County Library
Abstract: This collection contains official and unofficial documents and other items from the Sonoma County Library and its predecessor
municipal libraries, including files and documents relating to the construction of the Central Library, records from branch
libraries prior to being incorporated into the Sonoma County Library system. The collection also includes Includes Staff history
of the Sonoma County Library: clippings, fliers, notes, etc. compiled by Sebastopol Librarian Ann Stroberger prior to her
retirement in 2014 (4 boxes (20 binders); Scrapbooks of the Petaluma Regional Library, 1939-1993: Scrapbooks of the Petaluma
Public Library, 1939-1993, consists of two binders and eight scrapbook albums documenting over five decades of the library's
history. The binders contain clippings (bulk from Petaluma Argus-Courier), Jan. 3, 1939-May 28, 1943; the albums are comprised
primarily of newspaper clippings from the Petaluma Argus-Courier, photographs and ephemeral items.The scrapbooks are comprised
primarily of newspaper clippings from the Petaluma Argus-Courier, photographs and ephemeral items; materials related to the
dedication of the new library on July 10, 1976 (June 22, 1976 letter from U.S. Representative Don Clausen, invitation responses,
guest list and photographs from the dedication) (10 items in 4 boxes); Sebastopol Library Arts Committee's records of exhibitions
include: fliers and other publicity items, adminstrative records, photographs from exhibits held in the Sebastopol Regional
Library's forum room, 1981-2009.
Varying form of title: Sonoma County Library historical materials, 1869-<2017>
Included title: Scrapbooks of the Petaluma Regional Library,1939-1993
Included title:
Stroberger, Ann. Staff history of the Sonoma County Library
Biography/Organization History
The Sonoma County Library is a medium-sized public library system that serves the nine cities and unincorporated areas of
Sonoma County, Califrnia. The library system is a joint powers authority, with administration located at the Administrative
Offices, 6135 State Farm Dr, Rohnert Park, CA 94928.
In 1859, a private library association established the Santa Rosa Library, founding what was the 14th public library in California.
The Santa Rosa Library would be the ancestor of the Central Library of the Sonoma County Library system. Santa Rosa's second
library building was dedicated in March 1904 with a Carnegie grant, although the 1906 earthquake damaged it badly. The library
was rebuilt as the Santa Rosa Free Public Library and served Santa Rosa until 1960, when deferred maintenance forced the City
of Santa Rosa to condemn the old Carnegie library; the Santa Rosa Public Library was housed for several years in temporary
quarters in downtown Santa Rosa.
Private and municipal libraries were also established in towns throughout Sonoma County from the mid-19th century, onward,
including Petaluma (1858), Cloverdale (1884), Healdsburg (1896), Sonoma (1903), Sebastopol (1916) and Guerneville (1924).
In 1945, Sonoma County Free Public Library was founded. By 1950, the new system included a Central Library and four branches,
a bookmobile, and many outlets, among them 80 school libraries. The Santa Rosa Public Library merged with the Sonoma County
Free Public Library in 1965, and the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors designated the combined organization as official archives
for the county.
A new Santa Rosa Central Library opened in 1967, to replace the old Carnegie Library. The new library included the “California
Room”; this became the core of the Sonoma County History and Genealogy Library collection. Between 1967 and 1975, an additional
Santa Rosa Library opened, the Northwest Library, adjacent to Coddingtown Mall (1968), and a new library was built in Sebastopol
(1974) to replace the old Carnegie library damaged in a 1969 earthquake.
In 1975, a county-wide Library Joint Powers Agreement was signed, uniting all public libraries in Sonoma County in one system.
This served the library system until 2014, when a revised Library Joint Powers Agreement was approved and instituted that
included representation from all nine Sonoma County cities and the County of Sonoma. During this period, new library buildings
opened in Petaluma (1976), Healdsburg (1988) and Guerneville (1988); additional library branches opened in Santa Rosa's Rincon
Valley (1994) and Windsor (1996) and Rohnert Park (2003). In November 2015, a temporary storefront library was established
in the Roseland district of southwest Santa Rosa to serve Roseland's predominantly Latino community; a permanent facility
is planned for the site as part of a redevelopment project.
The Sonoma County Library shares a catalog with the Mendocino County Library and Lake County Library systems, allowing patrons
of each library to borrow material from any library in the three systems. (
Wikipedia: Sonoma County Library
This collection contains official and unofficial documents and other items from the Sonoma County Library and its predecessor
municipal libraries.
Partially organized into boxes containing one or more series:
- Box 1: Santa Rosa branch minutes (7 vols.), 1869-1975
- Boxes 2-9: Administrative documents, 1975-1995
- Box 10: Healdsburg Library minutes, 1901-1973 ; Financial records, 1974-1975 ; Cash books, 1955-1975
- Box 11: Petaluma Library minutes, 1962-1975
- Box 12: Sonoma Library records, 1909-1969
- Box 13: Cloverdale Library records, 1927-1969 ; new Cloverdale Library building documents, 1979
- Box 14: Healdsburg Library minutes, 1972-1975
- Box 15: Sebastopol Library cash book, 1955-1961
- Box 16: Condemnation of Santa Rosa Carnegie building and new building construction records, 1959-1968
- Box 17: Miscellaneous Santa Rosa Library records, 1943-1964
- Box 18: Miscellaneous Sonoma County Library records, 1976-1994
- Box 19: Miscellaneous Santa Rosa Library records, 1888-1962
- Box 20: Santa Rosa Library new library building construction documents, 1958-1967
- Box 21: Branch improvements and new Santa Rosa Library building, 1963-1972
- Box 22: Petaluma Library scrapbooks, 1947-1967 (6 volumes)
- Box 24: Petaluma Library scrapbooks, 1967-1977 (2 volumes)
- Box 24: Petaluma Library scrapbooks, 1977-1993 (2 volumes)
- Box 25: Sonoma Regional Library. Grant application ; Reports, 1968-1978, 2001 ; clippings ; Sonoma Valley Library financial documents
- Box 26: Southwest Regional Library ; Windsor Regional Library ; Bookmobile
- Box 27: Central Santa Rosa Library. Clippings ; Renovation planning ; Central buying
- Box 28: Cloverdale Regional Library. Clippings ; Library building ; 20th anniversary planning ; 30th anniversary planning ; Cloverdale Library trustees minutes, 1913-1926
- Box 29: Branches. Correctional libraries--Prison law libraries ; Forestville Library ; Guerneville Regional Library ; Healdsburg Regional Library ; Occidental Library ; Petaluma Regional Library ; Rincon Valley Regional Library (East Regional Library)
- Box 30: Sebastopol Library (1). Reports, 1966-1978
- Box 31: Sebastopol Library (2). New building ; Consolidation documents ; Agreements for service ; Management documents, 1966-1968
- Box 32: Sebastopol Library (3). Children's Library ; Sebastopol new building planning ; Sebastopol clippings
- Box 33: Northwest Regional Library (1). New building plans ; Correspondence ; Director's notes ; Landscaping
- Box 34: Northwest Regional Library (2). Architects interviews ; Comparative programs and plans ; Building program ; Claims
- Box 35: Central files, 1979-2000. Art exhibits ; Book collection ; Book fairs ; Internet/Web ; e-Books
- Box 36: Central files, 1973-2000. County-wide library planning ; North Bay Cooperative Library ; Staff and personnel
- Box 37. Library annual reports, 1903-1979
- Box 38: Agencies and organizations ; State of California
- Box 39: Programs and budgets
- Box 40: Santa Rosa Library. Expenditures, 1925-1959
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection.
Sonoma County Library--History
Sebastopol Regional Library--History
Petaluma Regional Library--History
Public libraries--California--Sonoma County--History
Branch libraries--California--Sonoma County--History
Public libraries--California--Sonoma County--Administration
Public libraries--California--Sonoma County--History
Public libraries--California--Sonoma County--Centralization--History
Public libraries--California--Sonoma County--Departments--History
Public libraries--California--Sonoma County--Services to children--History
Public libraries--California--Sonoma County--Services to adults--History
Library buildings--California--Sonoma County--History
Library buildings--California--Sonoma County--Design and construction
Library buildings--California--Sonoma County--Planning
Public libraries (institutions)
Public libraries (buildings)
Branch libraries (institutions)
Branch libraries (buildings)
Administrative records
Business correspondence
Informational works
Scrapbooks
Archival materials
Important Information for Users of the Collection
Access Information
This collection is partially processed. Please contact the Sonoma County History and Genealogy Library for access; for contact
info and current hours, see
https://sonomalibrary.org/locations/sonoma-county-history-and-genealogy-library
Conditions of Use
Collection does not circulate and may be photocopied or photographed by arrangement only.
Property and intellectual rights reside with the Sonoma County Library. The Sonoma County Library has made this collection
available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY-NC-SA) 4.0 International license. Preferred
credit line is: Courtesy, the Sonoma County Library. Please see additional reproduction and reuse information at
https://sonomalibrary.org/locations/sonoma-county-history-and-genealogy-library/order-photo
[Identification of item], Sonoma County Library documents, 1869-<2017>. SPC.00001, Sonoma County Library Archives, Sonoma
County Library, Santa Rosa, CA.
Gift: donor unknown