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San José State University and the San José Public Library System Joint Library Project Records
MSS.2009.08.05
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Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Title: San José State University and the San José Public Library System Joint Library Project Records
Identifier/Call Number: MSS.2009.08.05
Physical Description:
27.0 boxes
(27 linear feet)
Date (inclusive): 1994-2006
Abstract: The San José State University and the San José Public Library System Joint Library Project Records, 1994-2005 (bulk 1998-2000)
document the planning and construction of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, the first joint venture between a university
and public library in the U.S. The records consist of administrative files, architectural files and renderings, legal files,
newspaper clippings, photographs, and promotional materials.
The collection is open for research.
Copyright is assigned to the San José State University Library Special Collections and Archives. All requests for permission
to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the Special Collections and Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include
or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Copyright restrictions also apply
to digital reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
San José State University and the San José Public Library System Joint Library Project Records, MSS-2009-08-05, San José State
University Library Special Collections and Archives.
Collection processed by Robert Donahue. Finding aid EAD encoded by Mary Ellen Petrich. Reviewed by Danelle Moon and Erin Louthen.
Box 25 added to the collection by Dana V. Lema in 2017. Boxes 26-27 added by Carli Lowe in 2019.
This finding aid was created as part of the Survey and Cataloging Project, a two-year San José State University Library grant project funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The project began in 2008. The Project Director is Danelle Moon. The Project Archivist is Erin Louthen.
In 1857 the San Francisco Board of Education established Minns' Evening Normal School for current and prospective teachers
in the city. Named after its principal, George W. Minns, the institution was formally established as the first California
State Normal School by the State Legislature in 1862. A decade later, the Legislature voted to move the Normal School to San
José, and the school relocated to its new home on Washington Square prior to the fall term of 1872. After a fire destroyed
the Normal School building in 1880, the Legislature authorized 200,000 dollars to construct a new building on the same site.
Completed in 1881, the building was commonly referred to as the Second State Normal School. After several names and curriculum
changes, Minns' Normal School is now San José State University, offering more than 134 bachelor's and master's degrees with
110 concentrations, and is recognized as one of the top public universities granting such degrees in the West.
In 1996, SJSU President Robert L. Caret and San José Mayor Susan Hammer began early discussions to build a joint library,
and in 1998 the two entities signed an operating agreement. Complex planning efforts began in 1999 and in 2003 the Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. Library opened to the public. The completion of the 475,000-square foot library--the largest library to be
built at one time west of the Mississippi--under budget and on schedule became known as "the miracle on Fourth Street." The
amount of planning and productivity to carry out this innovative venture required multiple layers of collaboration, fund-raising,
and support from a diverse community of users.
The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library provides combined services for the campus community of 30,000 students, SJSU faculty
and staff, and to the larger community population of close to one million people. The merger has enhanced access and discovery
to a wealth of resources, from books, e-books, databases, audiovisual materials, and primary sources to an expansive public
art collection. The library opened in 2003 despite initial opposition from some university faculty and members of the community
at large. Today the library serves as a gateway from K-12 to higher education, and has become the cornerstone for life-long
learning in the region.
San José State University Library Records, MSS-2009-03-03, San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives.
Scope and Content of Collection
The San José State University and the San José Public Library System Joint Library Project Records, 1994-2006 document the
planning and construction of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. The records consist of administrative files, architectural
files and renderings, legal files, newspaper clippings, photographs, and promotional materials.
This collection is arranged into three series: Series I. General Joint Library Files, 1997-2006; Series II. Architectural
Files, 1994-2003 (bulk 1999); and Series III. Promotional Materials, 1998-2004.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Library buildings -- California -- San Jose -- Planning.
Joint-use libraries -- California -- San José.
Education, Higher -- California -- San José.
Library buildings -- California -- San Jose -- Design and construction.