CA State Library

The CA State Library now offers online subject guides through the LibGuides platform! 🎉 Additional guides will continue to be added periodically. Explore the subject guides at libraryca.libguides.com

We hope it's an ice cream Sunday for you! Happy #nationalicecreamday

There may or may not be coffee involved...

From now until August 2026, come to Gillis Hall on the third floor of the 914 Capitol Mall building to see our three America 250 displays: Speeches that Defined America; Writings of the Founders; and the Constitutional Convention.

Congratulations to Sierra Madre Public Library on its grand reopening! A State Library Building Forward Library Infrastructure grant helped make this project possible. Building Forward is a program of the CA State Library, funded by the State of California. #BuildingForward

6th President of the United States, John Quincy Adam’s, had a birthday on July 11. Greg’s highlights some of the books found in JQA’s library, the Stone Library, and a few lines of poetry he wrote. Remember, if you’re not a reader, you’re not a leader.

We hold these truths to be self-evident...on July 8 we hosted an in-person & livestreamed community reading of the Declaration of Independence, participating in a nationwide, simultaneous public readings of this historic document. Watch the full version at youtu.be/_6xm8tvWxWc

On July 9, 1776 after the Declaration of Independence was read to American troops in NY a group of revolutionary supporters tore down a statue of George III. This recreation correctly shows enslaved & free Black men doing most of the labor but dresses them in orientalized attire

Greg shares a book he’s read recently!

Greg highlights the 43rd president George W. Bush, whose birthday was on July 6. And a shout out to fellow librarian Laura Bush.

Declaration of Independence reading at the State Library! Gillis Hall (3rd Floor) Event starts at 2:55 pm, with the reading beginning at 3 pm

In ONE DAY join us for a community reading of the Declaration of Independence on Wednesday, July 8 at 3pm in Gillis Hall OR Virtually. We'll share the link on social media about 15 minutes ahead of time. For more info on the in-person event, head to libraryca.libcal.com/event/17133896

Life's like a box of chocolates on #WorldChocolateDay Here's a candy box that celebrated the exposition on Treasure Island starting 1939. The top is covered in embossed foil w/ green, blue & silver & shows the exposition buildings & the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.

Sometimes the treasures in our collection aren't the ones that are the rarest or the most beautiful, but rather we connect with them in some personal way. This is our new series Some of Our Favorite Things, enjoy! #lakeplacid #adirondacks #someofourfavoritethings #libraries

@devinlavelle you're right!

@CAStateLibrary B probably should be, but alas ...

We're ready for the next match tonight, after consulting a book from our collection!⚽ Do you know the right answer? Guess in the comments!

Shelf Life pages through history with this 1776 edition of Common Sense by Thomas Paine from our Sutro Library.

So, this weekend, as you think about the history of the US, remember both the militia patriots including Ethan Allen and Nathanael Greene and the library patriots like Jefferson, Adams, Madison, and Ben Franklin.

The states ultimately needed both to start up a functioning national government while simultaneously fighting for independence. If the US had been lacking the fortitude of the military at Valley Forge or the diplomacy of Franklin and Adams in Paris... it wouldn't have worked.

One thing that stands out from a reading about the history of the colonies and Revolution is that the patriots fell into big two camps; you had the militia patriots and the library patriots.

Join us for a community reading of the Declaration of Independence on Wednesday, July 8 at 3pm in Gillis Hall OR Virtually. We'll share the link on social media about 15 minutes ahead of time. For more info on the in-person event, head to libraryca.libcal.com/event/17133896