| Beverly Hills Public Library | |
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| BeverlyHillsCityHall03.jpg The library is located near Beverly Hills City Hall |
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| General information | |
| Type | Library |
| Location | Beverly Hills, California |
The Beverly Hills Public Library (abbreviated BHPL) is the public library for the city of Beverly Hills, California, the only public library of the city of Beverly Hills. It is located next to the BHPD headquarters.
On December 23, 1929, the Beverly Hills City Council passed an ordinance creating a Municipal Public Library. The city rented a small space in the E. J. Krause Building, 401 North Canon Dr. A three-member Library Board supervised the library with appropriations from the general fund.
By 1930, Beverly Hills' population had reached 17,428. With a collection of 10,288 volumes, 5,152 registered borrowers, and an annual circulation of 100,797, the library outgrew its limited shelving space and needed to move. In 1932, the library was relocated to the North Wing in the new City Hall.
In the early 1940s, the number of borrowers once again increased and the collection quadrupled to 43,036. There was an annual circulation of 202,930. This resulted in the expansion of the library to two floors in the city hall. Another change occurred in 1945 when the City Council voted to eliminate the Library Board. This decision enabled the library to fall under the auspices of the Mayor and the City Council.
The Friends of the Beverly Hills Public Library, founded in 1959, raised funds to enhance the library's services. In 1962, a bond issue for a new building failed by 464 votes. A second bond issue to fund the construction of the library, however, passed in 1963. The library opened in August 1965.
The library underwent extensive renovation in 1990 under Charles Moore's Renovation Group design. The plan included a new building for the library, which opened September 4, 1990.