: Tessa Kelso 1895–1897: Clara Bell Fowler 1897–1900: Harriet Child Wadleigh 1900–1905: Mary Letitia Jones 1905–1910: Charles Fletcher Lummis 1910–1911: Purd Wright 1911–1933: Everett Robbins Perry 1933–1947: Althea Warren 1947–1969: Harold Hamill 1969–1990: Wyman Jones 1990–1994: Elizabeth Martinez 1995–2004: Susan Goldberg Kent 2004–2008: Fontayne Holmes 2009–2012: Martin Gomez 2012–present: John Szabo Central Library The Central Library Goodhue building was constructed in 1926 and is a Downtown Los Angeles landmark. It was designed by architect Bertram Goodhue. This was his last work, because the man died suddenly in 1924. The Richard Riordan Central Library complex is the third largest public library in the United States in terms of book and periodical holdings. Originally named the Central Library, the building was first renamed in honor of the longtime president of the Board of Library Commissioners and President of the University of Southern California, Rufus B. von KleinSmid. The new wing of Central Library, completed in 1993, was named in honor of former mayor Tom Bradley. The complex (i.e., the original Goodhue building and the Bradley wing) was subsequently renamed in 2001 for former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, as the Richard Riordan Central Library. The building was burned out by a catastrophic fire in 1986 when a million books and many other records (patents, play scripts, photographs) were damaged or totally destroyed. Arson was suspected but never proved. Branches Besides the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles, the system operates 72 branch locations in the city's neighborhoods. Eight of the larger branches are designated "regional branches." High school diploma The library offers an online program that allows adult patrons who have not completed high school to earn their high school diploma. Special services TESSA is Los Angeles Public Library online historical collections. TESSA is named after Tessa Kelso, Los Angeles City Librarian from 1889 to 1895. In 2023, the library issued a limited-edition library card featuring the mountain lion P-22 in a National Geographic photo with the Hollywood Sign in the background. See also List of Registered Historic Places in Los Angeles Samuel Bradford Caswell (1828–1898), one of the first trustees of the first Los Angeles public library, owned property where the Central Branch was built Donald D. Lorenzen, City Council member who supported renovation of library Althea Warren, head librarian, 1943–1947 Leontyne Butler King, first black member of the Los Angeles Library Commission (appointed 1961) Central Business District, Los Angeles (1880-1899)