Beverly Hills Public Library

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, located at 401 North Canon Drive. 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.