San Francisco Public Library - Main Library - San Francisco, CA
Posted by: 
saopaulo1
N 37° 46.743 W 122° 24.981
10S E 551396 N 4181460
Main library located in the Civic Center in San Francisco, CA.
Waymark Code: WM4PPP
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 09/16/2008
Views: 21
"Construction on the current Main Library began on March 15, 1993, and cost a total of $109.5 million.[1] The building was completed in 1995 and opened a year later on April 18, 1996. At over 376,000 square feet (35,000 square meter) and with six floors above ground and one below, the new library is more than twice as big as the building it replaced (which was damaged in the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989, and was rebuilt as the new Asian Art Museum). The city spent nearly $140 million on the new library.
The new library features over 300 computer terminals, room for 1100 laptops, and a new wing for children.
Nonetheless, the Main Library has its critics. In October 1996 author Nicholson Baker wrote a scathing article in The New Yorker about the weeding of books from the library as it moved to the new building. He was also critical about the elimination of the card catalog when the computerized catalog was introduced. Due to this negative publicity, the library released an official response to Nicholson's New Yorker article, criticizing his claims.
Despite the negative reviews, library visitations doubled in its first year open, from 1.1 million to 2.1 million and the amount of library-card owners that nearly tripled.
There has also been criticism in the local press that the airy and spacious atrium dramatically reduced the amount of floor space available for shelving the library's collection." (
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