Yolo Branch Library, Carnegie public library in Yolo, United States
The Yolo Branch Library is a single-storey Carnegie library building on Sacramento Street in Yolo, designed by W. H. Weeks and opened in 1918. Its bungalow design was later duplicated for the Santa Cruz Eastside branch library in Santa Cruz, California.
Yolo County created its library system in 1910, and Yolo was among the first communities to receive a branch. After roughly 20 letters between the county librarian and Carnegie's James Beltram, $3,000 was offered in 1917; Beltram objected that Yolo lay too close to the funded Woodland library, but the county argued its facilities were out of date and served a large rural base. Residents raised $300 for the lot, W. H. Weeks designed the building, and it opened in 1918.
The library's name comes from the town of Yolo, whose branch was among the first in the county system set up in 1910. Residents themselves raised $300 to buy the lot on Sacramento Street, and the branch has stayed in community use since opening in 1918.
The library stands at 37750 Sacramento Street in Yolo, a small community west of Woodland in Yolo County. It occupies a single lot bought with $300 raised by local residents, and the one-story plan keeps the entrance, reading room and children's section within a short walk of each other.
The building is part of a small group of Carnegie libraries that continue to function as public libraries after their original establishment. This continuity is rare and makes it a notable example of the long-term impact of this philanthropic initiative.
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