California State Library in Sacramento, California

My hubby at the entrance to the California State Library in downtown Sacramento.

Quote inside the entrance of the California State Library.

In honor of National Library Week, my husband and I spent a short amount of time (roughly 60 to 90 minutes) at the California State Library in downtown Sacramento across the street from the California State Capitol Building on our last day in Sacramento.

The following is a quick summary about the California State Library from their website:

Established in 1850, the California State Library is the oldest continuously operated public library in the American West and is the central reference and research library for state government and the Legislature. The library collection includes more than 4 million titles, 6,000 maps, and 250,000 photographs. It has an extensive collection of documents from and about the state’s rich history and is one of the major genealogical reference libraries on the West Coast. It also holds significant collections from Mexico, the United Kingdom and Europe, with manuscripts dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. The State Library is both a State and Federal Depository Library, providing free and open access to government information, and is a U.S. Patent and Trademark Resource Center. It is home to the Bernard E. Witkin State Law Library and the Braille and Talking Book Library. It also directs state and federal funds to support local public libraries and statewide library programs and services.

During our brief visit to the California State Library, we spent the bulk of our time at the Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building across the street from the above location partaking in the self-guided tour. I'll be making a separate post for our self-guided tour of the Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building.