ADVOCACY ALERT:
SPEAK OUT TO SAVE THE CALIFORNIA ROOM!
Budget cuts threaten an invaluable civic resource
May 6th 2026:
PAC*SJ urges City Council to reconsider an alarming proposal in the City’s 2026-27 budget to close the Martin Luther King Library’s California Room and eliminate its three dedicated staff positions. Established in 1906 as the local history section of San Jose’s first public library, the California Room today has grown to become a vast and incomparable collection of books, photographs, maps, newspaper archives, city directories, building permits, personal papers, and historic ephemera illuminating more than 250 years of San José, Santa Clara Valley, and California history. Boasting more than 5,400 annual in-person visits and countless more online inquiries, the California Room is an incredibly important public resource supporting the efforts of students, educators, authors, historians, genealogists, property owners, developers, land-use consultants, and engaged citizens to explore, uncover, and share the rich and diverse histories of our shared home.
As San José prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday in 2027, the loss of its preeminent public history repository would represent a profound civic failure. The proposed closure would save the City a mere $388,000-- just 0.6% of the total library budget and only 0.007% of the total City budget! The proposal to close direct access to the California Room will set in motion a long term change that will be difficult for the Library Department to reverse. We urge you to reach out to Mayor Matt Mahan, City Manager Jennifer Maguire, City Librarian Jill Bourne, and your City Council representatives before Monday, May 11th at 9:30am, when Council holds its first and only Neighborhood Services Budget Study Session prior to a final budget vote on June 9th. Speak out now to save the California Room!
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ABOUT THE 2026-27 SJPL LIBRARY BUDGET:
https://www.sanjoseca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/131196/639132812540130000
ABOUT THE CALIFORNIA ROOM:
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SAMPLE EMAIL: COPY/PASTE OR PERSONALIZE!
To:
jennifer.maguire@sanjoseca.gov
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Subject: California Room - Library Department Budget
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​Message:
I urge you to maintain funding for the California Room at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library in the 2026–27 budget. For more than a century, the California Room and its dedicated librarians have preserved the history of San José and Santa Clara Valley through an irreplaceable collection of books, photographs, maps, archives, and historical records explored by thousands of students, educators, researchers, and community members every year. Closing this invaluable public resource to save just o.6% of the overall City Library budget would be a devastating and short-sighted decision, especially as San José prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2027. I ask you to protect the California Room, preserve public access to our shared history, and demonstrate that San José values its cultural heritage and civic memory.
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Sincerely,
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​[Your name and council district]