The Madera Free Public Library was established in 1901 in
the Court House and contained 1,157 volumes. Later in the year
it was moved to the First National Bank Building where it was
destroyed by fire in 1906. In 1910 it was reestablished with
an annual income of $4,500 and on May 3 of the same year the
Board of Supervisors contracted with the Board of Library Trustees
to provide County Library service.
In February, 1913, having outgrown its quarters, it was moved
to the McCluskey Building. At the time, the total annual circulation
was 6,609. On June 5, 1911, it was established again as the Madera
County Free Library, being the first in California to organize
under the present County Library Law.
On May 5, 1917, The Madera County Library opened a new building,
built in Italian style, on Yosemite Avenue in Madera. The site
contained separate rooms for children and adults and an alcove
for the law collection, while the basement housed books for schools
and branches. By 1917 the Library had 22,078 books, with a circulation
of 57,374 and has maintained near-steady growth ever since. In
1970 the Library moved to its present location on G street.
Madera County Library is a member of the cooperative San Joaquin
Valley Library System, which also includes Kern County Library,
Tulare County Library, Porterville Library, Tulare Public Library,
Kings County Library, Fresno County Library, Coalinga Library
District, and Mariposa County Library. Besides circulating books,
the Library answers reference questions in person or over the
phone for patrons throughout the county. Questions which cannot
be answered locally are sent to the San Joaquin Valley Information
Service for answering. Books requested by patrons which the Library
does not have are either obtained from a member library of the
San Joaquin Valley Library System or from another library.
Like other Madera County Departments the Library is closed
for New Year's Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President's
Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veteran's Day,
Thankgiving Day, and Christmas.
Supporting The Library
If you would like to support the Madera County Library, please
contact: Friends of Madera County Library, P.O. BOX 105
Madera, CA 93639.
