Modesto Library Improvement Project
The Modesto Library closed to address critical infrastructure upgrades on Saturday, Nov. 30, 2024. The library is anticipated to reopen in Summer 2026. Areas to be addressed by this project include heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), elevators, asbestos remediation, lighting, and more.
Library Services During the Closure
Full library services may be accessed at all open Stanislaus County Library branches.. The Salida, Empire, and Riverbank branches are all within 10.5 miles of the Modesto Library. Exterior book drops will be available for returns in the parking lot behind the Modesto Library.
The Modesto Library collection will be stored at the Salida Library. Currently, items in the collection are unavailable for holds while the collection is packed and moved. Once stored in Salida, materials in the collection will be available for requests.
Instructions
- Enter the address to your starting location in the search bar at the top right of the map under the scale slider
- Select the address from the search results box that populates below the search bar
- The map should pan to the selected address and provide a list of available facilities on the left side of the map.
- If a facility is not located, adjust the slider at the top right of the screen to a higher number to increase the search radius
- Select the desired library from the list of available facilities on the left
- The map should pan to the selected facility and determine an optimal route automatically
- Make note of the directions provided on the right side of the screen
- Click on the library icon on the map to see business hours and contact information.
History of the Modesto Library
The story of the Modesto Library is one of growth. It began as a series of free reading rooms founded around 1890 in downtown Modesto and merged to become the Modesto City Library. The Modesto Library joined the county library system, and Oramil McHenry donated money for a new library building. The new library opened at 14th and I Streets in 1912 in what is now the McHenry Museum.
By 1927, the library was overcrowded, and a new addition was added. As times changed and new library services were offered, such as a drive-up book return, film usage, and rental of long-play records, so did the eventual need for a new building.
The building we know today as the Modesto Library opened in 1971. At the time, Modesto’s population was 68,000 people, and since then, the city’s population has more than tripled in size.
In 2023, the library was awarded $9.97 million in grant funding as part of the State of California’s Building Forward Library Facilities Improvement program. Combined with library funding, bolstered by the Board of Supervisors’ commitment to Building Community Investment in the County Library system, the value of the project will be $15 million. Additional enhancements to amenities and space within the library, such as a reimagined Early Learning space, have been made possible thanks to donors who contributed to the Friends of the Modesto Library’s “Lifelong Legacy” campaign. Additionally, the Modesto City Council allocated $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds to the Library as a Modesto Forward Grant, which will be used as supplemental funds for enhanced furnishings, fixtures, and equipment.
Considered the central hub of the 13-branch Stanislaus County Library system, the Modesto Improvement Project will constitute the most significant improvements to the Modesto Library facility in the past 53 years.
