News Release

The San Francisco Public Library announced that the Western Addition Branch Library, located at 1550 Scott Street/Geary, will close Aug. 19 for renovation. A closing party will be held 12:30–2:30 p.m. on Aug. 19 at the branch. Food, music and entertainment will be provided.

The project will cost about $4.3 million and is scheduled for completion in Spring 2008. Renovation highlights include: new furniture and bookshelves, better lighting, a new program room, a designated teen area, more computers, wireless Internet access, a variety of seating choices, and a new entry with automatic front doors.

The Western Addition renovation is part of a major capital improvement project—the largest in San Francisco Public Library history—backed by voters who passed a $105.9 million bond measure in November 2000. Currently, there are five other branch libraries that are under construction—Sunset, West Portal, Marina, Glen Park and Noe Valley. The Branch Library Improvement Program includes plans to renovate 19 branches and replace four leased facilities with City-owned branches. The renovated Excelsior Branch Library reopened on July 9, 2005 and a brand-new branch in Mission Bay opened on July 8, 2006 as part of this building campaign.

While the Western Addition Branch is under construction, the Library will provide the following temporary services starting a few weeks after the closing:

• Bookmobile service at the corner of Post and Steiner streets, near Hamilton Recreation Center. Hours of operation: Tuesday, 10:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m; Wednesday, 3–7 p.m.; and Friday, 1–5 p.m.
• Weekly preschool Storytime (ages 3–5) on Tuesday, 10:30 a.m. at Parents Place, 1710 Scott Street (at Sutter Street)
• Relocation of the branch’s large Japanese language collection. Popular fiction for adults, picture stories for children and audio-visual materials for all ages will be moved to the nearby Presidio Branch Library at 3150 Sacramento Street, between Baker and Lyon, where a new International Languages Collection will be created in the lower level of the building. The International Languages Collection will be open: Tuesday, 11 a.m.–9 p.m.; Wednesday, 1–9 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; Friday, 1–6 p.m.; and Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m.
• Hold materials will be routed to the Richmond Branch Library. Patrons can designate an alternate pickup location through the Library’s web site, or make the request at the service desk of any branch.

For more information on temporary services, call (415) 557-4353 or visit www.sfpl.org.

History of the Western Addition Branch Library

The Western Addition Branch Library was opened June 27, 1966 as the 27th branch established in the San Francisco Public Library system. The building was designed by architects Appleton & Wolfard and built at the cost of $244,000.

Western Addition’s collections reflect the rich cultural heritage of the neighborhood. The branch provides one of the largest Japanese language and Japanese Interest (in English) collections in a public library in the nation. Approximately 20,000 items (books, videos, CDs, music cassettes and audiobooks) are included in the Japanese language collection and more than 2,600 are included in the Japanese Interest collection. The Branch also maintains a large African American history and culture collection of over 6,000 items. Russian language materials are also available in the adult collection.

For more information on the branch renovation, call the Library’s Chief of Branches at (415) 557-4353; or the Branch Library Improvement Program at (415) 557-4354; or visit the Library’s web site at www.sfpl.org.

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