Philanthropist May Donate to S.D. Library

The effort to develop a new central library in San Diego may be given new impetus by a multimillion-dollar donation from a local philanthropist.

Although no commitments have been made, philanthropist Muriel Gluck has expressed interest in providing funds to build a children’s wing of a downtown library, City Librarian William Sannwald said Thursday.

“Mrs. Gluck said she was interested in doing something for the library, but she made no firm commitment to us,” Sannwald said. “It’s really at the very preliminary stage.”

Sannwald said the central library on E Street, built in the early 1950s, has been short of space for 15 years. “Fifty percent of our collection is not available to the public because it’s in closed storage downstairs,” he said, so a librarian must dig the books out of storage if a patron wants to use them.

“There’s hardly any room for another book. There’s no room for any more staff,” Sannwald said, adding that some library services may be moved to other buildings next year because of the overcrowding.

Ernest Hahn, the man who developed Horton Plaza and chairman of a committee developing a proposal for a new library, said he met with Gluck and Mayor Maureen O’Connor on Wednesday to discuss the possibility of Gluck giving money for the children’s wing of a new library.

Gluck is now considering whether to make the donation.

A new library would cost $50 million to $60 million, and some of that money could come from the sale of the current library site, said mayoral spokesman Paul Downey. He said Gluck is considering donating $5 million.

Downey said O’Connor was “excited, enthusiastic and optimistic” about the possibility of a donation.

One potential stumbling block, Sannwald said, is that Gluck may be reluctant to make a commitment if it remains unclear when and where a new library will be built.

“We’ve been going on since I don’t know when about a new library, and when you give a large donation like that, you want to see (construction) happen,” he said.

Hahn is looking at the possibility of developing a “government-education square,” which would include the library and city and county government offices.