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Pasadena Central Library’s big question: Where to move 350K books?

A month after the Pasadena Central Library closed, officials are in the midst of a pivot to rehouse its collection, its staff and its services.

The city of Pasadena has ordered the closure of the Central Library at t 285 E. Walnut St due to seismic safety concerns in Pasadena on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
The city of Pasadena has ordered the closure of the Central Library at t 285 E. Walnut St due to seismic safety concerns in Pasadena on Wednesday, May 5, 2021. (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/ SCNG)
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How do you move a collection of 350,000 library books, scores of high-demand programs, and where do you put them?

That’s the challenge facing Pasadena Libraries Director Michelle Perera as she and her staff plan to vacate the Pasadena Central Library.

Much to their surprise — and to the rest of the city’s — the library at 285 E. Walnut St.  was closed in May after a seismic evaluation found that the nearly 100-year-old structure would likely collapse in a moderate to major earthquake because of its unreinforced masonry structure.

The beloved site, which served about 55,000 people a month, was set to reopen when pandemic restrictions lifted. The closure has library planners scrambling in search for a space to temporarily house the collection.

“The bottom line here is we were in shock when we had to close Central Library and really had to try and pivot again and try and figure out a new way to offer the services we have traditionally offered at Central,” Perera told the City Council this week. “But this really is a good opportunity for us to rethink what we do and look at it in a different way.”

A month after receiving the bad news, Perera said she and her team are considering various locations for the library’s physical collection, including a closed elementary school or a large warehouse. The collection includes the library’s robust historical archive.

A vacant school site could could offer some some opportunities, the director said, ranging from a chance to expand the library’s innovation lab and art room. And city officials say a city-owned site on Raymond Avenue could be adequate for ensuring items are accessible.

There’s also a question of how the Central Library’s public facing services would be allocated. Where would people go for services? That could be a school, but officials are exploring the possibility of retail space and storefronts. Schools might also provide opportunity for larger scale library events and programs.

A month into the closure, officials are focused on immediate needs, but the library will be closed for multiple years — perhaps three to five — in a renovation that will costs of tens of millions of dollars. Because so much was housed at the Central Library, priorities also include housing its administrative staff, and figuring out how to continue providing WiFi and computer services.

In the short term, officials have been coordinating  with the Public Health Department to relocate the library’s Office of the Young Child, which works to provide learning environments for children; a new hub for the Friends of the Library Book Store; and the city’s Care Navigator, a hub for people experiencing homelessness to tap services — which might roam among the city’s nine other branches depending on demand. The Central Library’s law library will be shifted to the Hastings branch.

The key, City Manager Steve Mermell said, is to keep the collection in circulation and to move a “fair amount” of the material.

“It will be easier if we have fewer materials in there,” he said, adding relocating most items will make it easier for renovation teams once they begin their work.

City Councilman Tyron Hampton suggested the ideas of installing bungalows in the Central Library parking area, perhaps to offer some services — an idea the city manager suggested could come back to the City Council later more formally.

Perera said the closure coincides with library officials re-imagining some services. For instance, the success of some virtual programs during the pandemic has officials exploring hybrid service models, offering some programming in-person but others online.

For instance, 50,000 people attended library virtual programs in the first three months of the fiscal year, which began July 1, she said. And she noted that curbside pickup of books could remain at several locations.

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