The Sacramento Room

The prized Sacramento Public Library's Special Collection is housed in one of the best kept secrets of Sacramento - The Sacramento Room. This room is located on the second floor of the Central Library in downtown Sacramento.

Home to more than 21,000 carefully chosen printed items which are available to researchers, writers, teachers, students, and others - all under the watchful eye of the Sacramento Room librarians. Included in the collection are signed first editions by Sacramento authors, Sacramento telephone books dating back to 1899, Sacramento city directories dating back to 1851, a best seller from 1490, historical photographs, postcards, and other ephemera of Sacramento.

One of the more popular collections for young people is the collection of local high school, middle school, and even elementary school year books. Young people can see what Mom and Dad or even the grandparents looked like in their teen years.

The Friends of the Sacramento Public Library recently held one of our monthly board meetings at the Sacramento Room. The library has asked the Friends to donate $150,000 as "seed money" for a $2.5 million endowment fund to expand the Sacramento Room's inventory and hours of availability to the public as well as begin a major digitizing effort.

If you're downtown in Sacramento on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday afternoon, you might consider visiting this well-kept secret.