Library - Screens, Books and Jazz

A stop on College of San Mateo Campus Walk, a free self-guided tour.

The Library, Building 9, sits on one of the highest terraces, and Warnecke made it the anchor of the campus. It opened on November 15, 1963, as one of the largest community college libraries in the country by floor area. Its signature is the pierced concrete screens that wrap much of the building, giving the walls depth and filtering the sun and glare. Count the glass bays across the main front: there are eleven.

The library is on the upper level, with study spaces, computers and a collection that links to the Peninsula Library System. Community members can use it too. Check the library website for current hours.

Downstairs are the studios of KCSM, 91.1 FM, a 24-hour jazz station owned by the college district. It went on the air in October 1964 as a training station for broadcasting students. Its TV sister station started the same year as one of the first community college TV stations in the country.

Getting here: Keep walking east to the end of the mall. The Library is the building wrapped in patterned concrete screens.

Did you know?: Baseball broadcaster Jon Miller is one of the students who learned the trade at KCSM.

Photo op: Get close to one of the concrete screens and shoot through the pattern toward the campus or the sky.

More on Wikipedia: College of San Mateo · KCSM · KPJK · Jon Miller

Library - Screens, Books and Jazz

Stops on this tour