History
Menlo Park Library has operated in a school, a hotel, City Hall, a restaurant, and a bungalow until settling down in the Civic Center.
In 1916, the San Mateo County Library opened a branch library in the Central School on El Camino Real in Menlo Park. It contained 50 books and was presided over by Hanna Burke, a teacher at the school. In 1926, the library moved to the Kuck Hotel at Derry Lane and Oak Grove. Four years later, it moved again to City Hall on Doyle Street. For 9 years, 1,062 borrowers used this facility until the next move to what is now the British Banker's Club. Being situated on the mezzanine required borrowers to climb 21 steps, but rent was only $5 a month. This arrangement lasted until 1948, when the library moved to a bungalow on Menlo Avenue.
Not until 1957 was a building designed specifically as a library. Kingsford Jones, a Menlo Park architect, designed the one-story ranch style building with 2 patios and a brick and redwood exterior, giving it a rustic and informal atmosphere. In 1964 the Menlo Park Public Library became an independent municipal library with the county continuing to provide certain services.
The addition of a new wing in 1968 tripled its size with picture windows added for pleasant reading. Another 7,000 square feet was added in 1992, in addition to a complete remodel.
In 1999, Belle Haven Library opened on the campus of Belle Haven Elementary School at 413 Ivy Dr., operating as both a school library and public community library. In May 2024, Belle Haven Library moved to an expanded space within the newly built Belle Haven Community Campus on Terminal Ave.