Daniel E. Koshland San Francisco History Center San Francisco Public Library

Overview

The Daniel E. Koshland San Francisco History Center is a specialized research department of the San Francisco Public Library (SFPL), located on the 6th floor of the Main Library. It is also the official archives for the City and County of San Francisco. The History Center holds a comprehensive non-circulating research collection covering all aspects of San Francisco history from the earliest human habitation to the present, with secondary coverage of California and Western history. It serves researchers at all levels, from casual inquirers to academic scholars.

History and Founding

The History Center was founded in 1964 as the Californiana Collection, formally dedicated on 1 October 1964 in a public ceremony presided over by City Librarian William Holman and Mayor John Shelley. It was later renamed in honor of Daniel E. Koshland, a prominent San Francisco philanthropist. Because of its function as the City Archives, the History Center also administers the archival collections of the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center.

Collections and Holdings

The History Center's holdings span books, periodicals, pamphlets, ephemera, newspapers and news clippings, maps, photographs and slides, microfilm and microfiche, video recordings, DVDs, audio recordings, posters and broadsides, archives and manuscripts, scrapbooks, oral histories, and realia. The book collection comprises over 20,000 volumes covering subjects from architecture and transportation to labor unions, earthquakes, arts and music, public health, religion, government, and biography.

The San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection is among the most significant holdings, containing over 2 million photographs of San Francisco and California scenes from 1850 to the present. The bulk of this collection derives from the photo morgue of the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin newspaper, covering the 1920s to 1965, and includes street scenes, buildings, neighborhoods, and prominent personalities. The collection also contains panoramas, color slides, postcards, cabinet cards, stereographs, acetate and glass plate negatives, and lantern slides.

Journalism and Media Holdings

The History Center holds particular significance for journalism and media history. Holdings include an extensive newspaper collection (on microfilm and in hard copy), historical periodicals, the San Francisco News-Call Bulletin photo morgue (1920s–1965), community newspapers, and audio-visual materials documenting media and community events. Through California Revealed, a State Library digitization initiative, the History Center has made moving images and audio recordings from the 1910s to the 1990s freely available online, including oral histories and film footage.

Access and Usage

The History Center is open to all library users without appointment for browsing. Class visits and group tours are available for grades 7–12 by advance arrangement. City Archivist Susan Goldstein oversees operations. Contact: sfhistory@sfpl.org, (415) 557-4567. The Center is located at 100 Larkin St., 6th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94102.