Don Gould
Community Library Manager
1320 Highland Ave.
Manhattan Beach, CA 90266-4789
Phone: (310) 545-8595

History

The Manhattan Beach Library was started as a subscription library in 1910 by the Neptunian Women’s Club of Manhattan Beach which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary, and has named 2009 as “The Year of the Library.” The library became part of the County of Los Angeles Public Library system in January 1915, making it one of the oldest continuing libraries in the county system.  The library moved into its first location in a separate library building in 1957, and into its present building on November 1, 1975. It currently serves a population of over 35,000, in a 3.87 square mile area stretching from the beach eastward.

Services

The Manhattan Beach Library provides a variety of services including: reference services (print and online databases); a state-of-the-art online library catalog with access to the entire County Library collection; public access Internet computers and photocopier; a microform reader/printer for the local area historical newspaper collection; a collection of Manhattan Beach historical books; and a variety of programs and special events.

The library’s Community Room hosts a wide range of library sponsored activities, including book discussion groups, the Coffee and Classics Film series, 4 toddler and 2 pre-school story times, and many other special events for children and adults. The room also provides meeting space for local groups on an as-available basis. The Manhattan Beach Friends of the Library sponsors monthly book sales at the library offering a wide variety of books and audio visual materials, as well as a continually refreshed on-going book sale and DVD rental collection.

Facilities
The library occupies a 12,150 sq. ft. single story building constructed in 1975. Free, 2 hour parking is available at the Civic Center parking lot on 15th Street, directly behind the Library and City Hall. Metered parking is also available in the Civic Center underground parking structure, and across the street from the Library on Highland Avenue.

Political Representatives

• U.S. Congressional District: 36th
  Jane Harman
  URL: http://www.house.gov/harman/

• State Senate District: 28th
  Jenny Oropeza
  URL: http://dist28.casen.govoffice.com/

• State Assembly District: 53rd
  Ted Lieu
  URL: http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a53/

• Supervisorial District: 4th
  Don Knabe
  URL: http://knabe.com/

Local Links

	Beach Cities Health District URL: http://www.bchd.org/ A public agency dedicated to promoting the health and wellness of all Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach California residents.
	California State University Dominguez Hills URL: http://www.csudh.edu/ This site offers class schedules, admission information, distance learning and other useful information about the California University System.
	City of Manhattan Beach URL: http://www.ci.manhattan-beach.ca.us/ Information about the City of Manhattan Beach.
	El Camino College URL: http://www.elcamino.edu Information on admissions, class schedules, community education programs, campus events, employment opportunities and more for this local community college the South Bay area.
	Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce URL: http://www.manhattanbeachchamber.net/ Chamber of commerce information.
	Manhattan Beach Historical Society URL: http://manhattanbeachhistorical.org/ Dedicated to the preservation and and protection of the heritage of Manhattan Beach, the society provides historical information about the city.
	Manhattan Beach Surf and Beach Report URL: http://www.watchthewater.org/beach.cfm?bid=43 The Watchthewater.org web site of the County of Los Angeles Fire Department's Coastal Monitoring Network provides links to all county beaches with surf reports, web cams, facilities, and parking information.
	Manhattan Beach Unified School District URL: http://www.mbusd.org Information about the school district including school profiles.