Library Marking 90th Year With Exhibit

To celebrate its 90th anniversary, the Fullerton Public Library has put together an exhibit tracing its history from a modest beginning in William and Flora Starbuck’s Gem Pharmacy.

The couple began the city’s first library service by lending their own books, which they kept on a shelf at their pharmacy. A city library board was eventually established, raising $9,397 to open a facility with 859 volumes on Pomona Avenue.

The library today boasts 250,000 volumes, a large children’s section and scores of computers for its 65,000 patrons.

“If we live in an information age, then we’re critical and the core of the society we live in,” said Joanne Hardy, adult services manager at the main library at 353 W. Commonwealth Ave., next door to City Hall.

The aim of the anniversary exhibit, on display through Dec. 14, is to show how the library has grown and changed in tandem with the city. It includes photographs, a timeline and artifacts such as a bookcase thought to have been used by the Starbucks at the pharmacy.

The free exhibit is on the upper gallery of the main library. It it open during regular library hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. Information: (714) 738-6333.