Photo Scrapbook: Then & Now

Mission Library, Interior, 1915

The San Francisco Public Library has twenty-six branch libraries, conveniently located in neighborhoods throughout the City. The first branch library in the system, Mission Branch, was established in 1888. The most recently built library, replacing a storefront library, is the Ocean View Branch, which opened in 2000.

The system includes seven Carnegie libraries, and three libraries built in the 1930s as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). In 1993, threatened closures were averted when voters approved the Library Preservation Fund, which ensured that the Library had funding to operate all 26 branches for 15 years. Currently, as a result of the Branch Library Improvement Program, overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2000, the remaining four storefront libraries will be replaced by City-owned library facilities, and a new branch is being built in the Mission Bay neighborhood.

Select a branch to see Then & Now Photos:

Anza | Bayview| Bernal | Chinatown | Eureka Valley | Excelsior | Glen Park | Golden Gate Valley | Ingleside | Main | Marina | Merced | Mission | Noe Valley | North Beach | Ocean View | Ortega | Park | Parkside | Portola | Potrero | Presidio | Richmond | Sunset | Visitacion Valley | West Portal | Western Addition