As an original Carnegie Library SBPL receives $10,000

Santa Barbara Public Library is honored to receive a $10,000 gift from the Carnegie Corporation of New York in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States. These awards are being given to hundreds of Carnegie Libraries across the country as part of a nationwide commemoration.

Andrew Carnegie funded the construction of 1,681 free public libraries between 1886 and 1917. Thanks to SBPL’s first director, Frances Burns Linn, and the advocacy of Carnegie Foundation trustees and local residents, Charles L. Taylor and Dr. Henry S. Pritchett, Santa Barbara Public Library was awarded $50,000 in 1914 for the construction of Central Library at 40 East Anapamu Street. These original funds helped establish Santa Barbara’s downtown Library as one of the enduring legacies of Carnegie’s vision to make knowledge and learning accessible to all.

Established in 1882, the Santa Barbara Public Library has a storied history of serving the city and greater Santa Barbara community. Under the leadership of Frances Burns Linn, SBPL created California’s first County Branch Library System in 1910, which at it’s peak served over 30 locations throughout Santa Barbara County --including a substation at the Gibraltar Dam Construction Camp in 1915. In 1892, SBPL moved into its first building at 14 East Carrillo Street. As Santa Barbara experienced rapid growth and expansion between 1900-1910, it became clear a larger library was needed to serve the community. The Carnegie Foundation Grant in 1914 arrived just in time to meet those demands and earned Central Library the distinction of being a Carnegie Library.

Opening its doors on the first day of school—August 27, 1917—the Central Library has served as the heart of Santa Barbara for more than a century. It became a place of refuge after the 1925 earthquake and, with the opening of the Faulkner Memorial Art Gallery in 1930, even served as Santa Barbara’s first “art museum.”

Though the building has undergone several renovations over the years, its exterior remains largely unchanged, a familiar landmark in the city’s landscape. The transformation of its outdoor space into the Michael Towbes Library Plaza in 2024 once again affirmed Central Library’s role as a cornerstone of learning, creativity, and community connection within Santa Barbara’s Cultural Arts District.

The Santa Barbara Public Library will receive these funds in January 2026 and will use them to meet the evolving needs of the Santa Barbara community by investing them back into Central Library’s facility and programming efforts.