Pasadena City Council considers $195 million bond to bring Central Library back to its former glory

For being a home of books, the Pasadena Public Library has plenty of its own tales to tell, laying claim to a storied history.

It has been around since 1882 — four years before Pasadena even became a city. Nearly half a century later, the library moved into the Central Library building, the first building in Pasadena’s iconic Civic Center that was dedicated on Lincoln’s birthday. This distinguished history has earned The Central Library a place on the National Register of Historic Places.

Bond to fund renovation

City officials were forced to close Pasadena’s Central Library in May 2021 after it was “red-tagged” for not meeting earthquake safety standards. The Pasadena City Council is now considering a $195 million bond measure to place on the November ballot that would fund the library’s retrofit so that it can reopen to the public.

Tim McDonald, director of Libraries and Information Services for Pasadena, said the retrofit design process is fully funded, but the city still needs to raise money for construction. Built over 100 years ago, the library is an “unreinforced masonry” building, meaning the brick is more likely to collapse in an earthquake.

“Pasadena is special. For a city of our size to have the number of libraries that we have really speaks to the value that our community places on education and access to information,” McDonald said.

What makes the Central Library different?

Pasadena has 10 additional branch libraries, but the Central Library remains the crown jewel.

“We do not have the capacity to offer the same level of service through our branch libraries alone,” McDonald said. “There are programs and services that were offered at Central Library that we are not able to accommodate in those neighborhood branch libraries.”

At a size of 135,000 square feet, the Central Library can hold hundreds of thousands of books. According to McDonald, after the building was red-tagged, they moved as many of the books as they could to the branch libraries, but the rest are now temporarily stored in a warehouse location. People can access the catalog online and order a book to be shipped to a branch location, but they can’t browse the collection.

After the Central Library was closed, a committee of volunteers from different sectors of the community — city employees, nonprofit workers, media members, and library workers — was formed to see how the Central Library could be adapted while maintaining its historic character. McDonald said community engagement has played a huge role in developing the vision for the whole project.

“There is strong support to reopen the library and for a potential bond measure in November,” McDonald said.

The redesign

Gruen Associates is leading the design of the renovation of the Central Library. Debra Gerod, a partner at the firm, said everyone on the design team has a personal connection to the library.

Gerod said the retrofit design will mostly be to reinforce the building. There will also be a fire alarm and sprinkler system upgrade along with accessibility improvements.

A rendering of the Central Library's potential courtyard improvements after construction under the recommended scope.

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Courtesy of Tim McDonald

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Department of Public Works City Council Presentation

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According to Gerod, the $195 million is for total project costs — it would cover not just construction but all other fees, like for furniture and project management.

“The bond measure is … the leading source of funding, but if the library remains unfunded, then the library will need to remain closed,” Gerod said.

Beyond being a wealth of information, libraries are important spaces to escape the heat and access the internet among other resources, Gerod said.

McDonald added that the library’s auditorium held over 500 programs in the year before the building was closed down.

“We’re not able to connect and bring people together in our branches on the scale that we were at the Central Library,” McDonald said. “Even a hundred years ago, the people in Pasadena really valued the library services.”

“[Libraries are] like a great equalizer,” Gerod said. “They're open to everybody in the community, and I think that's why people are so emotionally attached to the library, because it doesn't really matter who you are.”

McDonald said the Pasadena City Council will likely decide later in July whether the bond measure will be placed on the November ballot.