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Law Library urges permanent quarters after 14 years in temporary space
Summary
Law Library Director Marcia Bell told supervisors the San Francisco Law Library remains in temporary Veterans Building quarters after about 14½ years, has two-thirds of its collection in storage, and needs a city-led relocation plan; supervisors requested a Land Use Committee hearing to pursue long-term options.
Marcia Bell, law librarian for the San Francisco Law Library, told the Budget & Finance Committee on May 21 that the library’s operating budget is modest but the institution faces an urgent facilities issue: it remains in temporary quarters at the Veterans Building more than 14 years after a planned return to City Hall. "There has been no plan," Bell said when asked about a long-term relocation strategy, adding that two-thirds of the library's collection remains in storage and that newly available space on the Veterans Building fourth floor will help outreach but will not fully restore the collection.
The library has served the public, bar and judiciary since 1870, Bell said, and trustees view the lack of a permanent site as a crisis for patrons who rely on law-library reference services, especially self-represented litigants. Controller Ben Rosenfield told the committee the city's broader capital plan — and an anticipated seismic retrofit of the War Memorial complex financed by revenue bonds — will need to include a plan for relocating the law library when funding is available.
Supervisor David Campos and others supported holding a Land Use Committee hearing to examine past plans, agency roles and next steps to secure a permanent facility. The committee agreed to move the item forward to the June 29 proceedings for further consideration.
