The Pima County Public Library (PCPL) system serves Pima County, Arizona, with a main library and 26 branch libraries as well as a bookmobile service. The system has its headquarters in Tucson"Library Administration." Pima County Public Library. Retrieved on January 18, 2011. "Mailing Address Pima County Public Library 101 N. Stone Ave. Tucson, AZ 85701" with a service area including the city and the surrounding communities of Arivaca, Green Valley, Sahuarita, South Tucson, Ajo, Vail, Marana, Casas Adobes, and Catalina. The town of Oro Valley's library joined the Pima County Public Library system in July 2012.
Early history The first known public library in Tucson was the 1867 Territorial Library, created by the territorial government for the 10 years that Tucson was the capital of the Arizona Territory, 1867–1877. In January 1877, the Territorial Library had 1,900 legal books and 300 non-legal volumes, which could be checked out by the public during regular hours.
In 1879, a group of women in Tucson began the Tucson Library Association, which was a private organization where members paid a subscription fee to help buy the books that they could borrow. Subscription libraries were popular in the west during this time, but excluded people who could not pay the fees. In March 1883, The women of the Tucson Library Association offered to give their whole private collection to the City of Tucson, if the city council would provide a room and other needed items for a free library.
On June 5, 1883, the city council dedicated the second floor of the new city hall for the purpose of a library, but didn't set aside any money to buy things like book shelves and furniture. It was not until July 6, 1886, after money was raised for the needed items, that the Tucson Public Library first opened its doors. The public library was in the original City Hall (building that also housed local prisoners.
In 1899, philanthropist Andrew Carnegie offered $25,000 to build a public library building in Tucson, if the city council would set aside land and guarantee a fund of $2,000 a year for its upkeep. The city council passed Resolution #20 in 1899, which provided land that was part of the Military Plaza for the site and set up the Library Fund. The new Carnegie Free Library opened in 1901.David Leighton, "Street Smarts: Books a hot commodity in early Tucson," Arizona Daily Star, July 8, 2014
In 1901 in response to a contest, the City of Tucson was gifted $25,000 by Andrew Carnegie to build the iconic Carnegie Public Library (1901 - 1934). It was designed by Henry C. Trost. Carnegie committed to paying up to $25,000 to build a new library on the condition that the City of Tucson supplied a building site and provided $2,000 per year to maintain the library. The Tucson Common Council made good on this deal by passing Resolution Number 20. This resolution earmarked $2,000 per year for library maintenance, and designated a site for the library. The site used constituted a portion of Military Plaza.
Today, the building is the Children's Museum Tucson.
Public library name changes 1883-1901: Library Hall
1901-1957: Carnegie Free Library
1957-1990: Tucson Public Library (TPL), a change made by Tucson City Council.
1990-2006: Tucson-Pima Public Library (TPPL), reflecting a new funding structure, the result of an agreement between the City of Tucson and Pima County to share library expenses 50-50.
2006–present: Pima County Public Library (PCPL). As of July 1, 2006, the library system is wholly funded and governed by the Pima County and its Board of Supervisors. It is still headquartered in Tucson, AZ.
Services
The PCPL system offers a variety of services for both children and adults. For children, storytimes are offered at some library locations. Children can improve their reading skills through the Read to a Dog program. Assistance with homework is also available online, by phone, and at specific library locations. Additional children's activities include El Dia de los Ninos/El Dia de los Libros, and the summer reading program.
PCPL also provides information on clubs, events, and opportunities available to teens. At PCPL, teens can serve as library advocates, participate on an advisory board, and volunteer. Teen programs include MegaMania (an annual fandom con), programming classes, gaming hangouts, and contests for art and poetry. 101 Space at Joel D. Valdez Main Library also provides a safe place for teens to hang out, create, and try out new technologies like 3D printers and green screens.
For adults, a wide range of services are available. Libraries host book clubs, computer classes, author visits, English classes, citizenship classes, and assistance looking and applying for jobs.
PCPL provides a wide range of services and events for the community. Their featured events are posted on the website calendar.
In 2012 PCPL became the first library in the nation to employ a public health nurse on site. A Public Health Nurse from the Pima County Health Department offers on-site expert medical help to assist library customers who turn to the library for help and safety and directs them to social services when appropriate.
Controversies In 2012, the Tucson Unit of the National Writers Union (NWU) publicly raised objections to the library's collection development policy. In an op-ed piece published in the Tucson Weekly's July 5 edition ("The Pima County Public Library Must Stop Getting Rid of Our Books"Greg Evans, "The Pima County Public Library Must Stop Getting Rid of Our Books", Tucson Weekly, July 5, 2012.), the NWU pointed out that PCPL ranks 28th, next to last, in the number of printed materials per resident in public libraries serving comparable populations, despite that in the same Institute of Museum and Library Services survey the library ranked sixteenth in the amount of money it spent on printed materials per resident. Because it discards books so aggressively, the op-ed piece continued, the library has a sub-par collection of books even though it spends enough money to have a much better quality collection.
In its reply to the piece, the PCPL stated that its collection development policy is geared toward "making room on the shelves for high-demand and popular books and materials in other formats" and pointed out that library circulation had increased from 6.2 million items in 2006 to more than 7.5 million items in 2010. It also stated that readers have the possibility of getting books they want via inter-library loan services or by requesting that the library order the book."Library Response: We're Following Industry Standards, and We're Circulating More Items," Tucson Weekly, August 2, 2012.
In 2014, KVOA News did two special reports on the library. The first of these highlighted how the library was forced to supplement its standard security service with off-duty officers from the Tucson Police Department. This was done to provide additional security at three of the library branches in which an unusually high number of incidents, ranging from fights to domestic disputes, had taken place."Pima County Public Library buys peace of mind," News 4 Tucson, Feb 27, 2014
The second KVOA News report focused on how "hundreds of thousands of dollars in inventory is going missing from the libraries and nobody seems to know why," and how the library, though spending 750,000 dollars a year on security, is not particularly focused on securing or protecting the books, DVDs and CDs in its collection."N4T Investigators: Pima County libraries losing inventory," News 4 Tucson, Apr 7, 2014
Timeline
Year Event 1883 Library established in 2nd floor of the 1883 Tucson City Hall 1891 The library begins with its first 2,000 volumes 1900 Andrew Carnegie pledges $25,000 to City of Tucson to build library 1901 Architect Henry Charles Trost is hired to build the new library, which is completed in June 1924 Funds are raised to build a children's room in the library 1938 New Main Library dedicated at 200 South Sixth Avenue 1941 Fire destroys dome over central portion of Main Library 1945 Contract with Pima County for provision of county library services established 1946 Ajo Branch Library opens in Ajo, Arizona 1954 Bookmobile service begins in April 1957 On January 7, the name of the Carnegie Free Library was changed to "Tucson Public Library" by the Tucson City Council 1961 Major additions added to Main Library Himmel Park Branch Library opens 1963 Bookmobile service discontinued; two new book trailers placed in service (one remains by 1977) 1965 Wilmot Branch Library opens 1966 Bookmobile services resume in November 1968 Friends of the Tucson Public Library organize Woods Branch Library opens 1969 Valencia Branch Library opens 1972 El Rio Branch Library opens Homebound service established 1973 Library Administration Technical Services move from Main Library to City Hall Annex 1974 Library begins operation of Green Valley Library Books by Mail service established 1975 Governmental Reference Library opens in City Hall Valencia Branch Library expanded El Pueblo Library opens Tel-a-Tale service established 1976 Green Valley Library moves to County Government Center Friends of the Pima-Green Valley Library established 1977 South Tucson book trailer established in permanent location Marana Library opens Columbus Branch Library opens—TPL's first library using new CLSI circulation / inventory control system 1978 Mission Branch Library opens 1979 Nanini Branch Library opens County Jail Library established 1980 Main Library Annex opened in Scottish Rite Temple Infoline Service established 1982 Himmel Library expansion Wilmot Branch Library expansion 1984 City of Tucson passes $15 million bond election for new Main Library 1986 Permanent Sam Lena-South Tucson Library opens 1989 Green Valley Library expanded, renamed Joyner-Green Valley Library Nanini Branch Library expands Dewhirst-Catalina Branch Library opens 1990 New Main Library on N. Stone opens, consolidating Library Administration, Technical Services, Periodicals, and Government Reference; new facility is Permanent location of temporary Arivaca Library in mobile unit The Tucson Public Library is renamed to The Tucson-Pima Public Library to reflect Pima County's increasing role in the library's operations 1991 Himmel Library major refurbishing through L.C. Powell campaign Sam Lena-South Tucson Library expansion Kirk-Bear Canyon Library opens Duesenberry-River Center Library opens 1994 City Bond Election includes $5.5 million for: renovations at Woods and Valencia, and a new Miller Golf Links Library County Jail Library expands Dewhirst-Catalina Library relocates Arson fire at Sam Lena-South Tucson Library 1995 Tucson Public Library officially renamed Tucson-Pima Public Library Marana Library expands CLSI/Geac system discontinued. Begin operations on Innovative Interfaces, Inc. 1996 Ajo Library relocates across town plaza Caviglia-Arivaca Branch Library opens in permanent facility Valencia Library relocates to begin major renovation 1997 Woods Library relocates to begin major renovation Ajo Branch Library renamed Salazar-Ajo Branch Library Friends of the Arivaca Library established Pima County Bond Election includes $5.25 million for Amphitheater School District/ Library joint-use school-public library (later used for the Oro Valley Library—an affiliate), a mid-town Tucson library, library facilities at the Kino Community Center, and expansion and improvements at South Tucson and Marana. El Rio Library relocated in slightly larger quarters in Neighborhood Center renovation. Groundbreaking for Miller-Golf Links Library 1998 Friends of the Kirk-Bear Canyon Library established Tucson-Pima Library Foundation established Valencia and Woods leave temporary quarters, returning to newly renovated facilities 1999 Miller-Golf Links Branch Library opens. Salazar-Ajo Branch Library expands into adjacent storefront location