Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Palos Verdes Library District, Peninsula Center Library. Local History Center.
Title: Palos Verdes Library District Collection
Creator:
McMillan, Agnes
Creator:
Cheney, Charles H., 1884-1943
Creator:
Palos Verdes Library District (1928-)
Identifier/Call Number: 018
Physical Description:
2.6 Cubic Feet
6 legal document boxes, 1 oversize legal document box, 1 letter document box, 1 flat box, 1 video bulk storage box, 4 roll
storage boxes, 5 oversize folders
Date (bulk): 1926-2005, bulk 1929-1949
Abstract: Collection of correspondence, reports, legal contracts, photographs, pamphlets, brochures, newsletters, reading lists, and
programming files of the Palos Verdes Library District from its founding in 1926 through the 1990s.
Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the Local History Center for access information.
The collection is open for research use.
[Name of item], Palos Verdes Library District Collection (Collection 018). Local History Center, Peninsula Center Library,
Palos Verdes Library District, Rolling Hills Estates, CA.
The Palos Verdes Library District (PVLD) is an independent library district serving the four cities of the Palos Verdes Peninsula:
Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes. The district has one main library, Peninsula
Center, and two branch libraries, Malaga Cove and Miraleste.
PVLD had its beginnings as the Palos Verdes Branch of the Los Angeles County Free Library Service. The library opened to the
public in June 1926 and was housed in an upstairs room of the Gardner Building, the first commercial building of the Palos
Verdes Project. The by-laws of the Palos Verdes Homes Association, the community association of the Palos Verdes Project,
authorized the creation of a library board with three members. Romayne Martin, one of the three original board members, spearheaded
the effort to separate from the County and establish an independent library district. A petition to order an election to form
the independent library district was circulated to the residents of Palos Verdes in 1927. An election was held in January
1928 and by overwhelming vote residents authorized the formation of the PVLD. PVLD is governed by a Library Board of Trustees
composed of publicly elected board members.
The construction of the District's first free-standing library building was funded in 1928 with the passage of a $90,000 bond
vote. The Board of Trustees hired local resident and well-known architect Myron Hunt to draw up plans for a library building.
The building cost $60,000 with the remaining balance used to acquire and landscape the site and furnish the building. The
furnishings were specially made by the Palos Verdes Furniture Guild at Portuguese Bend and are replicas of renaissance tables
and chairs brought from Italy by Frank Vanderlip. The Olmsted Brothers, hired by the Palos Verdes Project to layout the whole
Peninsula, landscaped the library grounds and adjoining park.
Agnes I. MacMillan was appointed as the District's first librarian in May 1930. On June 3, 1930 the Palos Verdes Public Library
and Art Gallery opened to the public. An official dedication ceremony took place on June 27, 1930 with a delegation from the
American Library Association present.
From 1930-1967 the library building in Malaga Cove served as the main library for the Peninsula. With the population growth
in the 1950s the single facility was insufficient to meet the needs of the growing Palos Verdes community. In May 1961, the
Peninsula Friends of the Library and the District worked together to expand the District's facilities. Through a series of
local bond measures, the community funded the Peninsula Center Library (1967) in Rolling Hills Estates and the Miraleste Library
(1970) in Rancho Palos Verdes, thus reaching the population centers on the Peninsula. Malaga Cove became a branch facility
of the District and the library board was increased from 3 to 5 members.
In 1991, a $16,000,000 bond was approved via election for renovation and expansion of the Peninsula Center Library. Construction
on the facility started in 1992. When the new building re-opened in September 1995, its square footage had more than doubled.
In 1995, the Malaga Cove Library was put on the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historical
Resources.
The collection is arranged into ten series. Series arranged chronologically have undated materials filed after dated materials.
Series 8 arranged into three subseries.
Series 1: Correspondence – arranged chronologically. 1926-1997; Bulk 1926-1931
Series 2: Administration Files – arranged alphabetically by folder title; thereunder chronologically.
Series 3: Board of Trustees – arranged alphabetically by folder title; thereunder chronologically.
Series 4: Associations, Committees, Foundations – arranged alphabetically by folder title; thereunder chronologically.
Series 5: Bonds and Elections – arranged chronologically.
Series 6: Materials Related to District Facilities – arranged chronologically.
Series 7: Clippings and Press Releases – arranged alphabetically by folder title; thereunder chronologically.
Series 8: Branch Programming – each subseries is arranged alphabetically by folder title; thereunder chronologically.
a. Malaga Cove
b. Miraleste
c. Peninsula Center
Series 9: Photographs – arranged chronologically.
Series 10: Realia
Includes correspondence, reports, legal contracts, agreements, design plans, blueprints, newsletters, pamphlets, brochures,
programming materials, proposals, realia and photographs related to Palos Verdes Library District. Bulk of collection materials
is related to the construction, opening, and early operations of the Malaga Cove Library beginning in 1926.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Assembled from materials collected by the library.
Initial rehousing and stabilization of materials by Dennis Piotrowski in 2012. Additional rehousing by Stella Castillo in
2016. Final arrangement and description by Stella Castillo, November 15, 2016.
Further accruals can be expected.
Oral History of Romayne Martin
The Palos Verdes Bulletin
http://www.palosverdeshistory.org/islandora/object/pvld:4048
Local History Center Subject and Biographical File Collection (Headings: Library; Library Board; Library District)
Collection of Materials Related to Concerts in the Park – Collection #007
Palos Verdes Community Arts Association – Unprocessed Collection
Friends of the Library Collection – Unprocessed Collection
Palos Verdes Homes Association Photo Collection - Box 25
Records of the Olmsted Associates Microfilm
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Library buildings--California--Palos Verdes Peninsula
Malaga Cove Plaza Library (Calif.)
Miraleste Library (Calif.)
Palos Verdes Library District (Calif.)
Public libraries--California--Palos Verdes Peninsula
Public libraries