Did you hear? It’s #Nationallibraryweek

an orange cat sitting upright but with head bowed and eyes closed next to computer monitor with an image of the California State Library building

It's #NationalLibraryWeek and National Library Workers Day! We also want to take a moment to recognize all of our "unofficial" remote library workers, that help us find the info you need and maybe taking a few cat naps while they're at it😻

A librarian helps gather information by searching a catalog on a computer. Un bibliotecario recopila información utilizando un catálogo en la computadora.

#EveryStoryCounts &we love this one “Librarians are always so kind and helpful. It’s a happy place too!” Agreed. Happy #NationalLibraryWorkersDay

#CadaHistoriaCuenta, y esta nos encanta: “Los bibliotecarios son siempre tan amables y serviciales. ¡Además, es un lugar feliz!”. Coincidimos plenamente.

Governor Newsom proclaims California Library Week | Governor of California

Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring April 19-25, 2026, as the “California Library Week.” You can read the proclamation here: www.gov.ca.gov/2026/04/20/g...

Sacramento book festival white banner with a hand holding the California State Library card in front of it.

If you have books, we will come. Our field of dreams is more of a room full of books, and our dream came true when CSL staff visited the @sacbookfest on Sunday, April 19. #books #libraries

It’s Right to Read day during #nationallibraryweek and Shelf Life looks at at two 1942 posters from the Office of War Information that warned against burning and banning books, highlighting the dangers of censorship. A striking reminder that suppressing ideas has consequences far beyond the moment

Video description: from the name plate of the BTBL recording studio the camera goes down a hallway into a door, where the door to the recording studio opens, revealing a volunteer inside. It pans over the recording equipment and open book, transitioning to a view from outside the studio

Calling all readers! Do you want to help make books accessible to your fellow Californians? Head over to www.library.ca.gov/btbl/ under the volunteer link to see the volunteer job postings in Idealist. #libraries #braille

This week’s episode of Shelf Life takes us back, waaay back with a unique fossilized binding #libraries #shells

One corner of the Gillis Hall reading room at the state library, with 4 leather reading chairs around a round table, bookshelves against the walls and murals above the bookshelves. Below the picture on a crinkled paper background are the words "Join our Team! The California State Library is hiring and we would love to meet you! check the caption for details" and ends with the CSL logo.

Would you like to work on the CA State Library’s grant programs and help libraries, cities, & counties receive funds to improve their community programs & services, like literacy services and programs for adults, teens, and children? Then apply by April 30, 2026 at calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/...

One corner of the Gillis Hall reading room at the state library, with 4 leather reading chairs around a round table, bookshelves against the walls and murals above the bookshelves. Below the picture on a crinkled paper background are the words "Join our Team! The California State Library is hiring and we would love to meet you! check the caption for details" and ends with the CSL logo.

Would you like to develop and implement statewide programs and initiatives for libraries? And help libraries deliver community-centered programs and services, like literacy services and programs for adults and families. Then apply by April 30, 2026 here: calcareers.ca.gov/CalHrPublic/...

Pocket Constitutions are going to CA libraries!                                         This program is supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act administered in California by the State Librarian

five panels of California Remix, left to right, a man playing a guitar, a person sitting using VR; a man holding books; a man waving, and two people sitting at a table.

"California Remix" a 29 panel mural by Forest Stearns is displayed in Gillis Hall at the Library and Courts building. Stearns shared that the mural is like taking a morning stroll to the coffee shop and who you’d see on the street. Come take a stroll Monday to Friday 9:30am-4pm.

This week’s Shelf Life investigates the Traité de Médecine Légale, which was originally published in Paris between 1821 and 1823 as Lecons de Médecine Légale (Lessons in Legal Medicine). It was used as a forensic textbook. Later expanded, & reissued, we have the French edition published in 1848.

wooden card catalogs with red "attention" banner graphic at the top with a blue banner at the bottom with text "the CA State Library will henceforth only use card catalogs for research."

APRIL FOOLS'!! Don't worry y'all, we won't be reverting back to card catalogs, but you can stroll down memory lane with the card catalogs in our circulation room in the 914 Capitol Mall location Mon-Fri 9:30am-4pm

The 90s were a big decade for the CA State Library- our second building was completed in 1994 and we had some high-end tech: computers #libraries #90s

In a few days it will be #poetrymonth so we’re featuring Minnie C. Childs’s small book of poetry. She donated “Orange Blossom Time in California and Other Poems” to the California State Library in 1924. View her sweet poetry and art in person at our California History Room.

This week’s shelf life examines a bespoke embroidered book from 1886 held at Sutro Library. Can you guess what the cover is made out of? #libraries

Graphic with yellow band in the middle and blue text "2025 by the Numbers" with 5 individual infographics on top and bottom showing 18.3 million library card sign ups, $870 million in grants, 1,128 libraries in CA, 33,000 park passes uses, 968 libraries connected to high speed broadband, 383,178 lunches served, 67.6 million eresources checkouts, 88 million visits to libraries, 136 million searches on COMPASS and 19,000 participants in early learning play

The California State Library recently released our Annual Report and you'll be happy to hear that good things are happening at California's libraries!
www.library.ca.gov/annual-repor...

Continue celebrating Year of the Fire Horse w/ woodblock prints from the Edo Period in Japan by artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川 国芳) (aka Ichiyûsai Kuniyoshi), depicting the artist’s interpretation of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a 14th-c (Ming Dynasty) Chinese historical novel by Luo Guanzhong (羅貫中)

Video

If these chairs could talk…..these comfy chairs in Gillis Hall are perfect for curling up with a good book or sharing some delicious tea with your bestie. Visit us Monday-Friday 9:30am-4pm

Spring us almost upon us! Perhaps these recipes from all seasons will inspire your dining for the coming warmer weather! Will it be the soufflé, the lemon mousse or the Blushing Jessica? #libraries #recipes

An array of gold picture frames and gray boxes on a red velvet background. The gold frames contain and black and white portrait of a woman wearing a feathered hat and an image of a hand-written letter, and the gray boxes contain text including the event title and description. Includes the Sutro Library and California State Library logos.

Join Sutro Library staff as we delve into 2 of our archival collections & reconstruct the stories of 2 such American women, Addie Viola Smith & Sarah M. Thatcher, restoring their legacies and honoring their struggles & achievements. Register at libraryca.libcal.com/event/16515225

Shelf Life is back with an episode you’ll want to pounce on- Sutro Library’s unofficial mascot Doug the cat as Shakespeare Cat! #cats #libraries

marketing for De Colores California's Migrant Farm Workers Zoom webinar on March 26. an image is faded in the background with a cream overlay.

Join the CA History Section for a panel on De Colores: Ca's Migrant Farm Workers at 4 PM March 26. Learn about the history of Ca's migrant farm workers and the multi-racial coalitions & relations that arose out of the Farm Worker Movement.
Registration at libraryca.libcal.com/event/16412990

Today’s Shelf Life episode takes us to the preservation section and their ingenious way to store glass plate negatives in a custom archival container.

Cover of “A Woman Ought to Know.” Collage of newspaper clippings and black-and-white photos of women.

What challenges did #California women of the 1970s face? Read all about it in their own words in this compilation digitized by the @castatelibrary. #WomensHistoryMonth delivery.library.ca.gov:8443/delivery/Del...

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