La Sierra Library

Facilities

The meeting room has a grand piano, can seat 50, has kitchen facilities and can be booked by calling the branch.  In addition, the branch has 1 quiet study room available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Study Rooms

La Sierra Library: This study room has one table with 6 chairs. There are outlets available. There is a television and whiteboard as well. Reservations can be made up to one week in advance for two hours a day total. Click on the link below to access the reservation system. All rooms require a valid Riverside Public Library card to reserve and check out. When you arrive, you can check in at the service desk and they will assist you.

Instantly book the study rooms at the La Sierra library. Rooms can be reserved for a maximum of two hours a day.

City Programs

Internet Services

This location offers library customers up to 2 hours of computer use per day. Unlimited WiFi is available for laptop & mobile devices. The library provides the ability to print from the public computers via SAM (Smart Access Manager), iPads are available for check out. You may maintain up to a $10.00 balance on your SAM account. Black and white printing is $0.15 per page. Color printing is $0.25 per page.

Library History

From 1914 to 1928, County Library book stations were maintained intermittently in La Sierra. Between 1950 and 1951, a first attempt was made to maintain a La Sierra book station. In June 1957, the County Library finally opened a branch in a cottage on Whitford Avenue, next door to the Community Hall. In April 1963, the Branch moved into larger rented quarters on Pierce Place. The following year, La Sierra area was annexed by the City of Riverside.

La Sierra Groundbreaking

In 1970, the "Master Plan Study for Libraries" was adopted by the Riverside City Council as a guideline for development through 1990; a major urban branch at La Sierra was the first priority of this plan. Between 1973 and 1974, the City purchased a lot on the northwest corner of La Sierra and Schuyler avenues as a site for the new La Sierra branch.

On 24 March 1976, the new La Sierra Library — a 9,000-square-foot building designed by the Riverside architectural firm of Peter Lawson Hansen — was dedicated. Nearly ten years later, in September 1985, an adult literacy training program, called the "Blueprint for Literacy," was formed.

In 2002, the library was renovated.

Sources include: Serving Through Partnership: A Centennial History of the Riverside City and County Public Library, 1888-1988, by Ronald J. Baker and The Press Enterprise.