The Main Library is honoring its 30th anniversary with a series of special programs, including a panel with past, present and future Library leaders on April 14. 
 

SAN FRANCISCO — This April, San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) celebrates the 30th anniversary of its Main Library building located in the heart of the City. SFPL is honoring this landmark anniversary with a historic photo display and a series of special programs that honor the building’s past while looking toward the future.  

The 30th anniversary series, “Under the Nautilus,” kicks off on April 14 with a panel featuring City Librarian Michael Lambert and other SFPL leaders from the past, present and future, who will talk about the momentous opening of the "new" Main Library in 1996 and what they foresee for the Library in the years ahead. Another highlight showcases librarians on film. Other panels, displays and exclusive screenings will continue throughout April. 

Another historic first is that during this 30th anniversary month of April, the Main Library is hosting its first civil wedding ceremonies, with the theme “Make Our Anniversary Your Anniversary.” Five weddings were held last Friday, April 3, and another group of weddings will occur on Friday, April 24. 

Over its 142‑year history as the City’s first public library, the Main Library has relocated several times to meet the needs of an evolving community and a growing collection that expanded from 6,000 books to nearly 1.2 million items in the Main Library alone (data as of 2025). Originally housed in a rented office space in the Financial District, the Library moved to a wing of City Hall in 1888 and, after the 1906 earthquake destroyed that facility, to a new Civic Center building now known as the Asian Art Museum. The current Main Library opened its doors on April 18, 1996, following a major civic effort led by citizen groups, private donors and City leadership. Funded by $104.5 million in bond funds and $22 million in private donations, the project was the largest public/private partnership in San Francisco’s history at the time of its completion. The building was designed by James Ingo Freed of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners (New York) and Cathy Simon of Simon Martin-Vegue Winkelstein & Moris (San Francisco). 

This extraordinary collaboration reflects the Library’s enduring significance as a place of learning, connection and community. Today, the Main Library continues to serve the San Francisco community, welcoming more than 865,000 visitors through its doors over the last fiscal year, and supporting a circulation exceeding 14.5 million annually across the entire library system.

PROGRAM DETAILS 

San Francisco’s Main Library: Past, Present and Future  
Join a panel with SFPL leaders from the past, present and future. Featured speakers include Michael Lambert (City Librarian), Dolly Goyal (Chief of Public Services), Naomi Jelks (Main Library Manager), Steven Coulter (former Library Commission President), Dale Carlson (former Commissioner and Chair of the Library Foundation) and moderated by Marcia Schneider (former Chief of Communications and Community Outreach). April 14, 6–7:30 p.m., Main Library, Koret Auditorium 

Quiet Please, Librarians on Film 
Explore how librarians, including actors portraying San Francisco Public Library librarians, have been depicted in Hollywood films over the years, from stereotypical tropes to positive images. Featuring film clips and a talk by former SFPL librarian and historian Jim Van Buskirk. April 15, 6–7:30 p.m., Main Library, Koret Auditorium 

30 Years of the James C. Hormel Center 
Celebrate the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center’s legacy as the first center of its kind in a public building and 30 years of trailblazing public programming, exhibitions and world-class archival and book collections. April 18, 3–5 p.m., Main Library, Hormel Center 

What Lies Beneath the Main: Civic Center's Cemetery Origins 
Join journalist Beth Winegarner, historian Woody LaBounty and cemetery researcher Alex Ryder as they reveal the history of San Francisco’s first city-run burial ground that remain beneath the Main Library. April 21, 6–7:30 p.m., Virtual Program 

On Display: Building the Main Library 
Enjoy an installation of exclusive photos honoring the construction of the Main Library’s building. April 14–30, Main Library, Atrium 


About San Francisco Public Library:  
San Francisco Public Library connects its diverse communities to learning, opportunities and each other. The library system is made up of 27 neighborhood branches, the San Francisco Main Library at Civic Center and four bookmobiles.