Sustainable Design

Both the city and county of San Mateo have a commitment to sustainability. The county even has a website devoted to "Making Green Easy". When it was decided to build a new main library the city wanted it to be a "Green" building. They have done an exemplary job in accomplishing this goal. One of the benchmarks used to determine whether or not a building lives up to its claim of being sustainable is LEED certification. This stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and it was created by the U.S. Green Building Council in 1998. Using this stringent rating system the San Mateo Public Library has achieved a Gold LEED certification. This is right below the highest rating of Platinum (very difficult to obtain). Due to the excellent building design one-third of the lighting is from the sun.

Some other features include such items as waterless urinals, alternative energy resources, recycled content materials (made locally), showers and changing areas for staff (to encourage walking and biking to work), clerestory windows (opened during warm weather), an advanced HVAC system, to name just a few of the features. In the Going Green Center of the library is a scale model of the building highlighting its energy efficient design. A downloadable brochure is available with more details. Hard copies of the brochures are available in strategic locations throughout the library.

Marina Branch

The need for a second branch library became evident to city officials and the new branch, East Branch, opened in 1954. It was located in rented facilities until it was replaced by the Marina Branch in 1966. This new facility was built at a cost of $100,000 and was located at 1530 Susan Court. In 1985 it became the first library in the city to implement an automated circulation system. Not only did it provide a better way to track library materials, but it also allowed for better coordination between libraries in the system (the other two branches quickly followed with automating their systems). A remodel of this branch library took place in 2003. It was closed for a year while the work was being completed.

The photo to the right shows that the library has the typical type of 1960s public building architecture, with its one story structure and simple lines.

Hillsdale Branch

With the growth of the city, the San Mateo Public Library was outgrowing its facilities. It became apparent that there was a need for a second library. In 1949 it was decided to open the first branch library, it was called South Branch. Originally, it was located at Beresford School. The total collection was only 200 circulating books. A couple of years later, in 1951, the branch was moved to a new location in rented facilities. As the area continued to grow a bond was passed to build a brand new facility. The new facility opened in 1957 and was named the Hillsdale Branch. It is located at 205 W. Hillsdale Blvd.

The Hillsdale Branch was closed for remodeling in 2003, along with the other branch library. They both reopened in 2004.

Facilities - Old

In 1907 the San Mateo Public Library finally had its own building. Following the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 the building housing the library, "Library Hall", was badly damaged by the tremor. City officials applied for a grant from the Carnegie Foundation, wanting to have a self-contained building for the library. The old building had been a multi-use one, thus limiting library space. Their petition was approved by Carnegie and they were granted an initial $10,000. However, an additional $2,500 was given following the earthquake.

The new library was designed by a San Francisco architectural firm (Cox & Cox). It was located on 2nd Avenue on land purchased by the city (its value was $7000 in 1912). After the lessons learned by the 1906 earthquake the building was constructed of reinforced concrete with stone columns. The San Mateo Woman's Club held fundraisers in order to furnish the library. They donated most of the $2,164 needed to do this. The furniture was described as being solid oak furniture.

A description of the library setting is in the San Mateo Public Library's Annual Report of 1912 (in the President's Address) as follows:

A shady little park with rustic seats on the northerly side of the building is an inviting resting place from which a rustic bridge over the creek leads to the high school and a pathway leads to the grammar school and along the parked creek bank.

The President's Address goes on to say that the close proximity of the library to several schools would be beneficial to the students. Providing them with opportunities to learn and to improve their minds. As the report states, We want more juvenile books suitable to guide, stimulate active thought, and hold the interest of the young in proper channels (1912).

As can be seen in the photo above. The San Mateo Public Library has some of the elements found in a classic Carnegie library, with its impressive facade. The information desk could be found as a focal point in the main room of the library. Window placement follows the guidelines suggested by the Carnegie Foundation. They are large windows, but still allow room for shelving underneath.

Without the Carnegie grant the SMPL would have waited for years before a separate library building could have been completed. Even with the implementation of a tax, the first year only generated just over $400. Chances are it would have remained in shared facilities, unless another donor had come along.

Facilities - New

In 1994 a library committee and the San Mateo Public Library Foundation were formed. Their goal was to find the funding for a new main library branch, since the existing library was overcrowded. A bond measure was finally passed in 1999 and it provided $30 million for a new main branch library. Several years later the old main branch closed and it was moved to a temporary location. Then in 2006 the new main branch officially opened.

The new main branch is a visually pleasing building, both inside and outside. The photo above illustrates this, it is a view of the Periodical Reading Lounge In addition, it has many green building features. These are showcased in their Green Living Center. There is a model of the library that can be viewed here.