What is happening?
As part of the City of San José’s 2026-2027 Adopted Operating Budget, the California Room, San José Public Library’s local history center located at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, will transition to a new operating model.
Beginning Wednesday, August 26, public access hours will change from 38 hours per week to 16 hours per week. The new California Room hours will be:
- Sunday–Tuesday: Closed
- Wednesday-Thursday: 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
- Friday: Closed
- Saturday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
To maximize availability of the materials and resources available through the California Room, members of the public may request a research appointment with library staff to support their research needs.
Why is this change happening?
The California Room’s new operating model is the result of a budget action approved by the City Council during the 2026–2027 budget process. Councilmembers Rosemary Kamei, Anthony Tordillos, and David Cohen introduced this action to preserve one full-time and one part-time California Room staff position for one year, allowing the California Room to continue providing research assistance and access to local history collections.
The San José Public Library, like many City services, is funded primarily through the City's General Fund. When the City faces budget challenges, every department, including the library, must make difficult decisions that may affect staffing, programs, and public services. As long as the library depends on the General Fund to operate its core services, it will continue evaluating and proposing service adjustments each year based on the City's budget.
How will the California Room continue serving the community?
We recognize that the new operating model may affect how some community members access California Room services. To increase access to staff and collections, members of the public may request research appointments through an online form available on the California Room webpage. These appointments will allow staff the time to select and retrieve information that may be relevant to your research interest and generally provide research support.
As always, our digital collections remain available 24/7. Explore California Room digital collections.
Stay up to date with California Room
We deeply value our partnerships across San José's historical and cultural communities, and we appreciate your continued support and collaboration as we transition to this new operational model. To receive news and information about the California Room, sign up for the California Room mailing list.
Thank you for your engagement and support of the California Room.