Electronic Resources

California State Library

In 1850, California was admitted to the Union. That same year, the legislature, recognizing the need to have accessible facts, figures and documentation to support decision and policy-making, created the California State Library -- establishing its home in the State Capitol.

In 1928, the Library and Courts Building was completed to accommodate the State Library's growing collections and functions, as well as the Supreme Court Chambers and offices. This building was placed on the National Register of Historic places in 1984. In the spring of 1994, the Library and Courts II Building was completed to re-centralize all of the State Library's services in two neighboring buildings.

In mid-2002, the California Legislature voted to rename the Library and Courts Building the Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building to honor the late state Supreme Court Justice Stanley Mosk, a California justice for 37 years.

Today the State Library stands as one of California's great public research institutions with a five-fold mission: serving the needs of elected officials and state agency employees; preserving the state's cultural heritage by collecting historic materials on California and the West; assisting public libraries through financial aid and consulting services; offering special services to disadvantaged and handicapped clients; and, ensuring that the general public has convenient and consistent access to its resources.