First meeting of the Trustees of the Salinas City Library is held. The population of Salinas was about 3,000.
San Jose architect Jacob Lentzen prepares plans and the specifications for the Classical Revival style building. On November 4, 1909 Carrie Miller Striening who works for the system until 1936, opens the Carnegie library building to the public at 2:00 in the afternoon.
The Salinas Public Library hires Pauline Pearson, who will later be recognized for her research on John Steinbeck in Salinas.
A large room in the city Recreation Center (the old USO building) is remodeled for use as the children’s library.
The Salinas Californian of March 7, 1957 details the inadequacies of the old Carnegie library building on Main Street, and the city council plans for a new $220,000 library building. John Ward becomes library director, and in 1959 the city breaks ground for the new library on the corner of Lincoln and San Luis Streets, just a few blocks from the old library. It is the second unit of the City’s civic center.
In October Salinas born author John Steinbeck is announced the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature. A month later the library lounge area is named the “John Steinbeck Room.” Steinbeck responds favorably to the honor by writing to say he “browsed” the library “practically to its roots in his youth.” The Salinas Californian records a high patron demand at the library for books of the Salinas born author.
The city council renames the Lincoln Street library building in honor of the late John Steinbeck. Salinas now has 58,500 people.
A major East Salinas branch library is proposed in February while in May the John Steinbeck Library opens its newly constructed wing, which adds 30,000 square feet. The Soroptimists purchase the Tom Fitzwater statue of John Steinbeck, which has been on display at the library since December of 1971, and donate it to the library.
The first Steinbeck Festival is held. The Friends of the Salinas Public Library open the Steinbeck Boutique at the John Steinbeck Library to help purchase The Pearl manuscript. Many area residents and organizations finally buy The Pearl Manuscript for the Steinbeck Archives, “piece by piece.”
The John Steinbeck Library is closed for repairs to damage from the Loma Prieta Earthquake in October.
The Steinbeck Archives move to the newly built National Steinbeck Center Museum at 1 Main Street in Salinas. Another major goal is successfully accomplished.
City Library Commissioner Patrice Parks-Kaminer says the library system is 100,000 books short for a city of Salinas' population. Salinas has 130,000 residents.
Using money donated by the Gates Foundation and the California State Library, as well as money from the library budget, public Internet access arrives. In July the library orientation for the public begins. Population in Salinas is officially 151,060.
The Salinas City Council approves budget cuts that would shut down the city's three libraries.
Activists stage a "read-in" to save the Salinas libraries from closure. People from across the state go to Salinas to participate, including author Anne Lamott.
Salinas residents and school children go to the State Capitol building in Sacramento to hold a mini read-in and press conference about the city's library plight.
30,000 books were checked out of the Cesar Chavez library in the first month of the library's re-opening. The library's renovation took about a year, and cost about $3 million.
We'd love to hear from you. Please send questions or feedback to the below email addresses.
Before contacting us, you may wish to visit our FAQs page which has lots of useful info on Tiki-Toki.
We can be contacted by email at: hello@tiki-toki.com.
You can also follow us on twitter at twitter.com/tiki_toki.
If you are having any problems with Tiki-Toki, please contact us as at: help@tiki-toki.com
Close