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Fresno State Library

Library Building and History

Our Building

In 2004, California voters approved Proposition 55, which provided funding for a new Library building. The firms of A.C. Martin and RMJM Hillier were hired, and in 2009 construction was completed. The building’s architecture and interior design won numerous national awards for innovation and excellence, including the 2012 American Institute of Architects chapter award for “Excellence in Design and Execution.”

External library view

Outside view of the Fresno State Library

The Library design included the Table Mountain Rancheria Tower, which is a striking five-story elliptical tower of glass, steel and angled-wood lattice that symbolizes a twined Native American basket. Housed within the Tower are two premier exhibition and concert spaces—the Leon S. Peters Ellipse Gallery and the Peter P. Peters Ellipse Balcony gallery. The centerpiece of the Leon S. Peters Ellipse Gallery is the Centennial Steinway piano, built in 1876 as a tribute to the United States’ 100th birthday. It is one of the last-known examples of Centennial Steinways.

Highlights from Library History

Learn about our history through a display of significant library events, organized chronologically.

2006-2009

2009

  • Construction is completed and the new library opens on February 20.
  • The Reference Department begins accepting questions through text messaging.
  • Equipment Lending program begins.

2008-2009

  • The old South Wing is remodeled and library services and staff are relocated in temporary locations across campus.

2008

  • Library Liaison program begins.

2007

  • Michael Gorman retires and Peter McDonald is named Dean of Library Services.
  • ALIS, the library's online catalog system, is replaced with Millennium.
  • The Reference Department begins accepting questions through instant messaging.

2006-2008

  • Construction of the new library building begins, with the Library services operating out of the old South Wing.

2006

  • The original wings of the library are demolished.

2010-Present

2023

  • Delritta Hornbuckle retires and Bernadette Muscat is named interim Dean of Library Services.

2022

  • The library is renamed to “Fresno State Library.”

2017

  • Peter McDonald retires and Delritta Hornbuckle is named Dean of Library Services.

2016

  • Today, 1.5 million people visit the library annually. The library has over 365,000 square feet of space for study, collections, computing and services. The library houses the busiest Starbucks in Fresno.
  • Ex Libris' Primo and Alma tools were implemented by the CSU systemwide, replacing the locally-used Sierra ILS.

2015

  • Meditation and Prayer Room added to the Library.
  • First Year Success Librarian joins the Library.
  • Study Pods added to create more group study space.
  • Write-In programs begin to help students with researching and writing.

2014

  • Library offers QuestionPoint 24/7 chat reference service.
  • DISCOVERe Hub, where students, faculty and staff can receive assistance or training with their mobile device or app, is added to the library.

2013

  • Map and Aerial Locator Tool (MALT) becomes publically available.

2011

  • Book Cart Drill Team participates in Homecoming.

2010

  • The new library is an immediate success with the campus and the community, with over 1,000,000 people visiting before its first birthday.
  • War Veterans’ Oral History Project launches.
  • The Learning Center is relocated in the library.
  • Media Lab opens offering multiple iMacs with specialized graphics design and music-editing software.

1980-1994

1994

  • The Development Office is created.
  • The Music Library is re-named the Music & Media Library to better reflect its growing collection of videotapes and cassettes.

1992

  • The first automated catalogue, ALIS, is brought up (replacing the old card catalog). Since then, comprehensive periodical indexes and hundreds of bibliographic and full-text online databases have been made available on the library's online system.

1991

  • The library's Systems Office is created.

1990-1992

  • The library suffers severe budget cuts. Twenty-five percent of its periodical subscriptions are cancelled. No video materials are purchased, and all other library materials purchases are significantly decreased.

1988

  • Lillie Parker retires and Michael Gorman joins the Madden Library as Dean of Library Services.
  • The Reference Department adds CD-ROM indexes.

1985

  • The Madden Library Associates support group (now the Friends of the Madden Library) is established.

1982

  • The library's first automated circulation system, CLSI, is installed.

1981

  • In Dr. Madden’s honor, the library is re-named to Henry Madden Library.

1980

  • The new South Wing opens.
  • Through the next few years, the library's catalog records are converted into machine-readable form.

1998-2005

2005

  • All of the books are moved to a warehouse off campus.

2004

  • Voters approve the Proposition 55 bond issue, which provides $95 million for a new library building. The firms of A.C. Martin Partners, Inc. and RMJM Hillier are hired as the architects and the planning process begins.

2002

  • Online tutorials and videos to teach students how to use the library are introduced.

2001

  • The library celebrates the acquisition of its one-millionth volume.

2000

  • The Central Valley Political Archive is established.
  • The library begins offering laptops for student use, which continues to be one of the most popular student programs, with over 100,000 checkouts per year.

1998-1999

  • The first two electronic classrooms are opened.

1998

  • The Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children's Literature is established.

1911-1949

1949

  • Henry Madden starts as University Librarian. The staff numbers eight. The collection contains approximately 70,000 volumes, with an emphasis on elementary and secondary education.

1941

  • The library staff grows to six members.

1935

  • Fresno State Normal School is renamed Fresno State College.

1923

  • Two years after the institution becomes Fresno State Teachers College, Ms. Tobin obtains her first assistant.

1914

  • Agnes Tobin starts as Librarian and remains until she retires in 1948.

1913

  • Maude Schaeffer (Department of English) is appointed acting Librarian.

1911

  • Fresno State Normal School is founded and the library is established.

1949-1979

1979

  • Dr. Madden retires and Lillie Parker serves as University Librarian.
    During Dr. Madden's tenure, the collection grew to 576,000 volumes.

1978

  • The curriculum collection is transferred from the School of Education. The juvenile and curriculum collections are housed together in the Teacher Resource Center.

1975

  • The library enters the world of electronic information when the Reference Department begins searching electronic databases for patrons.

1970

  • The College Lab School is disbanded and its juvenile collection is transferred to the library.

1968

  • The Music Library is created.

1966-1975

  • The library begins a 9-year reclassification project from the Dewey Decimal System to the Library of Congress classification system.

1966

  • The Department of Special Collections is established, initially containing the Roy J. Woodward Memorial Library of Californiana, the University's archives and a rare book collection.

1963

  • The Government Documents Department is established, and a year later is granted depository status for U.S. publications.

1962

  • The Department of Music transfers its collection of phonodiscs to the Library.