By Daily Press staff
The Santa Monica Public Library’s Main Library, 1343 Sixth Street, will close to the public on Monday, March 24, in order to prepare for a move to temporary facilities.
The Temporary Main Library will be located at 1324 Fifth Street (between Santa Monica Boulevard and Arizona Avenue). Library service from this downtown location is expected to begin in late April, while the new Main Library, designed by Moore Ruble Yudell, is built. Construction of the new library is expected to take approximately two years.
During the move to the temporary facility, service will be available at these branches: ■ Montana Avenue Library, 1704 Montana Avenue (310) 829-7081. ■ Fairview Branch Library, 2101 Ocean Park Boulevard (310) 450-0443. ■ Ocean Park Branch Library, 2601 Main Street (310) 392-3804. Branch hours are: Noon to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Branch libraries are closed Friday and Sunday.
Until the Temporary Main Library opens to the public, Telephone Reference Service will be offered Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The Telephone Reference phone number is (310) 451-8859.
Reference service is also available via e-mail and “24/7 Live Reference” through the library’s Web site at www.smpl.org. Patrons can also access the online catalog and a host of online databases from work, school, or home through the library’s Web site.
The Temporary Main Library will offer reference, readers’ advisory, and Internet service. About one-third the size of the existing Main Library, the temporary site will house 18 public access Internet stations, new library materials, and selections from the following collections: nonfiction, fiction and genre, paperbacks, current newspapers and magazines, videos, DVDs, CDs, audio books, language learning materials, reference materials (including microfilm of the Evening Outlook and other California resources), and young adult as well as a small, core collection of children’s materials.
The Main Library’s children’s collection will be largely relocated to the Ocean Park Branch and the large print book collection will be expanded at the Montana Ave. Branch. The rest of the Main Library’s collections, including bound magazines, international language books, and government documents, will be stored off-site and will not be available until the new Main Library is completed in 2005.
Temporary Main Library hours will be 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m.
Parking is available at nearby city parking structures. For up-to-date information, check the library’s construction Web site at www.smpl.org/construction or call the library’s general information line (310) 458-8600.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 13, 2003. Read the original PDF.