California State Library

Shelf Life has it all mapped out in this week’s episode. Sutro Library staff share about a bespoke map carrier. #maps

#Flashbackfriday to these US Citizenship guides from 1940 in English and Italian which have recently been digitized by our Government Publications staff. You can see the digital copies at delivery.library.ca.gov:8443/delivery/Del...

and delivery.library.ca.gov:8443/delivery/Del...

A light pole with black stand and round enclosed light with a orange and blue flag attached showing a female figure in yellow dress and red shall from the Maynard Dixon painting "a pageant of traditions" and text "California State Library" with green trees in the background.

Established in 1850, the CA State Library is the central reference and research library for state government and the Legislature and serves CA's local libraries, providing more than $500 million state and federal funds to support public libraries and deliver statewide library programs & services

7 wooden bookshelf bays full of books and the bottom of the Maynard Dixon "A Pageant of Traditions" mural can be seen above.

You can never have to many books, trust us, we have over 4 million of them in our collection! You can see these books in our Gillis Hall reading room Monday-Friday 9:30am-4pm.

Greg shares about his family’s personal connection to a 1953 Capitol Press corps photo hanging outside his office. #libraries

This week’s Shelf Life dives in to dazzling bespoke books from our Sutro Library. The book featured is “Essays: First Series” by Ralph Waldo Emerson from 1902. #libraries #books

staff stepped up! These delightful donkey photos are from books titled: “Mammalia,” “The animal world,” and “Natural History Picture Book, Mammalia”from our Sutro Library collection.

Greg shares about one of his favorite art pieces from Ocean Sole, a company in Kenya. Some pieces are on display in the Gillis Hall at 914 Capitol Mall. #libraries #art video description: Greg stands with a multicolored foam water buffalo head in front of his face and then moves it down

Black and white illustration of a fish with dragon like face in a dark blue template with gold suns, hands and stars. The CSL logo is in the bottom left and the sutro logo is in the bottom right.

It's Pisces season! 🐟 Pisces is usually two fish and is a faint constellation with Alpherg as its brightest star. The image here comes from a 17th century astronomy book by Polish scholar Stanisław Lubieniecki titled "Theatri cometici pars prior communicationes de comotis." From our Sutro Library.

BTBL staff took a field trip to Woodland Public Library’s Square One to use their 3D printer!
 
Video description: a series of clips showing arriving at Square One, different steps of printing the square shim, & ends with an image of the completed shims. #libraries #makerspace

cover of children's book "Ramadan the holy month of fasting by Ausma Zehanat Khan" featuring a girl in pink outfit and boy in white outfit. below are graphics of mandalas in blue and gold, crescent moons in gold, and hanging lanterns in gold. the state library logo is in the center bottom.

Ramadan Mubarak! Happy Ramadan! Ramadan is in the 9th month of the Islamic calendar and until March 19, Muslims around the world and in California will be fasting from dawn until sunset.

Happy #lunarnewyear ! We pulled some books from our Sutro Library to honor the year of the fire horse

Shelf Life this week is from our Sutro Library, showcasing an original letter from George Washington from 1775. #libraries #presidents

two manually spinning shelving units, with peach end caps and black handles with text in a dark red rounded cloud "you spin me round." the library logo is in the bottom left corner.

on a light pink background, a heart shaped photo of two leather chairs next to and end table and a rug and round table in front of them. Text reads "I could sit and stare at you all day (if all day meant M-F 9:30-4:00). library logo is in the bottom left corner.

room to map room, with waist height tables and pull out drawers. on the wall next to the door frame is a sign that reads "government publications map room." at the top are pink hanging heart graphics and the bottom in pink font reads "i'm trying to find the way to your heart..in the CSL map room." the library logo is in the bottom left corner

hands holding a book open on a scanning bed, with font in neon pink "if they scanned my heart, they'd find you" and a cluster of pink hearts in the bottom right corner and the library logo in the left bottom corner.

Need a last minute gift for Valentine's day? We have you covered. Send these swoon-worthy messages to the ones you love. 💝

What book did George Washington go out and buy after the constitutional convention concluded? Find out in Greg’s latest “If you’re not a reader, you’re not a leader” on the reading habits of our first... What book did George Washington go out and buy after the constitutional convention concluded? Find out in Greg’s latest “If you’re not a reader, you’re not a leader” on the reading habits of our...

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If you're not a reader, you're not a leader

In honor of Presidents’ Day, and Abraham Lincoln’s birthday today, February 12, Greg shares some reading habits of Lincoln, who was President from 1861-1865. If you’re not a reader, you’re not a leader. #libraries #presidents

This volume of #ShelfLife features a copy of Harper’s Weekly from the 1860’s covering Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. President’s Day on Feb 16 this year is an annual holiday celebrating both Lincoln and George Washington. #libraries #presidents

Check out some of the hand-colored plates from John Audubon’s Birds of America published between 1827 and 1838. For more info on appointments visit www.library.ca.gov/california-h...

To view the digitized version visit www.audubon.org/art/birds-of...
Head to our YouTube channel at @CSLmultimedia

singer Bad Bunny in white tuxedo shirt smiling and holding three gold Grammys. Above his head is text that reads "BTBL" and below him his text that reads "All of the services we provide."

It's Low Vision Awareness Month! Our Braille & Talking Book Library (BTBL) provides free library services to eligible Californians in Norcal that include Braille books, audiobooks, magazines, downloadable materials to devices &more

For Norcal visit btbl.ca.gov

For SoCal visit brailleinstitute.org

Front of small menu with yellow paper, blue font and a red logo of a tamale with address 'factory, 208 McAllister St". in the top right, a small husk covered tamale is attached with twine to the menu.

second page of yellow paper menu. Top Reads "Menu" and has listings for soups, roasts, sandwiches, tea, coffee, etc. and I XL tamale with pint bot. beer or wine.

third page of yellow paper menu with "to order, eggs, Cresta Blanca Wines" listed. the small tamale is visible behind the menu.

last page of yellow paper menu. Top Reads "To give our Patrons the best, we use exclusively in this restaurant: Royal Baking Powder, absolutely pure Bordan's peerless evaporated cream, Walter Baker and Co's chocolate and cocoa, Sparry;s germea the most perfect breakfast and luncheon food, our biscuits and doughnuts are made with Sparry's flour, pure teas and coffees from J. G. McDonald's" and ends with fresh meats, choice groceries, coal and milk.

How about "Tamale Tuesday" instead of "Taco Tuesday?!" From our CA History Section's menu collection, this menu even has a tiny tamale attached! This restaurant sold roast, sandwiches and pie in addition to tamales.

Vol. 8 of Shelf Life shows items from CA History’s Black Panther Party collection. This collection features photos, buttons, fliers, small posters, pamphlets, campaign literature, Ministry of Information Black Papers & more from 1966-1980. The Black Panther Party was founded in Oct. 1966 #libraries

Fred Korematsu Speaks Up by Laura Atkins and Stan Yogi and illustrated by Yutaka Houlette is propped up on a ledge in front of a window.

Today, Jan. 30, CA celebrates Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution. Korematsu was an American civil rights activist that stood up to the U.S. government’s wrongful incarceration of over 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry living on the West Coast during World War II

black and white photo of a crowd of women and a few men cheering, some with arms raised, in front of a stone building.

#FlashbackFriday to the 1919 telephone operator strike in San Francisco, CA outside the main office on Bush St. The walk out of operators, also known as "Hello Girls," was nationwide and a result of the failure of to negotiate a wage increase.

Meet Children's Librarian Ingha Chopra! 🖍️

Ingha loves borrowing the Library's Ukulele RED Kit, craft books, and travel books to spark inspiration. Tell us how you use SMPL by January 31: ow.ly/OPJ050Y5aTu

This survey is part of
@castatelibrary.bsky.social Every Story Counts.

Grateful to our partners and presenters —
@capolicylab.bsky.social, @chbrp.bsky.social,
@ucanr.edu, the Legislative Analyst’s Office, CRB Nexus
@castatelibrary.bsky.social, the Department of Finance, and
@ncslorg.bsky.social — for sharing practical tools and insights.

This bound item w/ woodblock prints containing flatulence humor is from Sutro Library’s Orientalia collection, which is being processed. Flatulence humor was used for various reasons throughout the Edo Period, ranging from political & religious satire to commentaries on Western & European influence

YouTube video by California State Library Multimedia Every Story Counts

“#EveryStoryCounts kicks off this Sunday. If your local library is participating, take the short survey and share your story.” youtu.be/eSjTdTl9zGc

a man and woman in gray blazers stand looking down at a giant map of California on the floor.

three men looking at a table with various technology, like records, audio players and documents.

A blonde white woman in black blazer and light blue shirt standing in front of a cream wall.

2016 v 2026! Greg visited @ontarioclc during their summer program; Mattie was named the Director of Sutro Library; Greg got a historian passport, our Braille & Talking Book Library had a show and tell for State Senator Ben Allen; and we unfurled a giant map.

black and white illustration of Aquarius, a shirtless man holding a jug pouring water in a dark purple from with sun graphics, hand outlines, and stars. The library logo is on the bottom left and the sutro library logo is on the bottom right.

It's Aquarius season! 💧Aquarius, the water carrier, is a constellation that can be found in the sky sometimes known as "the Sea" because of other water based constellations nearby. The image comes from a 17th century astronomy book by Polish scholar Stanisław Lubieniecki held by our Sutro Library.

Vol. 6 of our Shelf Life series explores this 1903 menu celebrating President Theodore Roosevelt’s visit to the San Francisco area. #libraries #menus