The San Rafael Branch’s victorious opening
When Doris Hoit became the city librarian in 1936, the Pasadena Public Library consisted of the Central Library and four small branches. She envisioned a library system in which no […]
Hey, we got oranges in the dead of winter!
It was sometime in 1889 during a meeting of the Valley Hunt Club that a distinguished professor by the name of Dr. Charles F. Holder shared an idea he had […]
Miss Jeanette Drake takes a bow
When Jeanette M. Drake came to Pasadena to become its third City Librarian in 1919, the Pasadena Public Library consisted of only the castle-like main library located on the corner […]
Lincoln at the Library!
With Lincoln’s birthday coming up—an important day for the nation and for the Pasadena Public Library, which dedicated the Central Library on February 12, 1927—our patrons might be interested in […]
Vacation Reading Club
The start of the Summer Reading Program is just around the corner! Summer reading has been a longstanding tradition of public libraries, and here at the Pasadena Public Library, this […]
Books, not booze! How the anti-saloon movement helped establish the first branch library in North Pasadena
Much of the area generally known as North Pasadena was once considered valueless by H.G. Monk, a New York real estate developer who originally owned this piece of property, because […]
From a corner of a room to the Peter Pan Room: A brief history of the children’s room at the Pasadena Public Library
Originally produced October 5, 2017; research and writeup by Young Phong Walk into any public library today and you are sure to find a children’s room or area. We take for […]
The Lost Branch of the Pasadena Public Library
Originally produced December 2016. Research and writeup by Young Phong. Public libraries in the United States and elsewhere in recent times have become increasingly important places for immigrants and refugees […]
Abraham Lincoln and the Dedication of the Central Library
Originally produced February 2017. Research and writeup by Young Phong. February 12 is an important date in American history because it’s on this date in 1809 that Abraham Lincoln, the […]