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# Temporary library open
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/temporary-library-open/
- Published: 2003-05-13T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T02:08:16.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: local, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*By Daily Press staff*

The temporary location for the Santa Monica Public Main Library opened on Monday.

The new facility, located at 1324 Fifth St., between Santa Monica Boulevard and Arizona Avenue, will serve as the main library while the new Main Library, designed by Moore Ruble Yudell Architects and Planners, is built at Sixth Street and Santa Monica Boulevard.

Construction of the new $60 million Main Library is expected to take two years. Library improvements are made possible, in part, by passage of a bond issue by Santa Monica voters in 1998.

The temporary Main Library offers reference, readers’ advisory, public access Internet, and these telephone services: reference (310) 451-8859; catalog assistance 458-8614; renewals 451-1866; and TTY 395-8499\. The temporary Library’s hours are: 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. Public parking is available in nearby city parking structures.

The temporary facility has new library materials and selections from these collections: nonfiction, fiction, mysteries, science fiction, graphic novels, paperbacks, current newspapers and magazines, videos, DVDs, CDs, audio books, language learning tapes and CDs, reference materials (including microfilm of the Evening Outlook and other California resources), young adult, and a core children’s collection.

The Main Library children’s collection has been largely relocated to the Ocean Park Branch Library, 2601 Main St. Large print book collections have been expanded at the Montana Avenue Branch Library, 1704 Montana Ave.; the Ken Edwards Center, 1527 Fourth St. and the Senior Recreation Center, 1450 Ocean Ave.

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\. Space for programs in the temporary library is limited. Children’s, teen, and adult programs continue at branch libraries, city parks, and other city facilities.

For more information, check the library’s Web site www.smpl.org, or call library general information at (310) 458-8600.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 13, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/051303.pdf?ref=smdp.com)