General Tours

Tours available by appointment (8 people max), depending on docent availability.  Accommodations may be available for larger groups with advanced notice.

Highlights include:

• Multiple art installations;
• Dr. Seuss-themed Sanford Children's Library;
• Beach-themed Pauline Foster Family Teen Center;
• Helen Price Reading Room;
• Society for American Baseball Research Center (SABR);
• IDEA (Innovation and Digital Expression Activity) Lab;
• Art Gallery;
• Marilyn and Gene Marx Special Collections Center; and
• Qualcomm Dome Terrace.

Art Tours

• Explore some of the 150 individual works of art from the Civic Art Collection, the largest display ever in the history of the Commission for Arts and Culture. 
• Learn about the four permanent and site-specific art installations commissioned for the Central Library.
• Enjoy a special look in the Hervey Family Rare Books Room. 
• Finish in the Art Gallery with a look at rotating exhibitions. 

Tours of the Rare Books Room

Join us for a tour of The Hervey Family Rare Books Room located on the 9^th floor of the Central Library in Special Collections. Here you will find the San Diego Public Library’s unique and treasured Wangenheim Rare Books Collection. 

Some of the highlights of the tour include:

• Miniature books collection

• Illuminated religious texts

• Fore-edge painted books

• A short talk on what defines a “rare book”

• Art work of Alfred Mitchell and Donal Hord

Tours for Educators and Group Visits

If you are looking for a field trip that expands students' enthusiasm for learning, consider requesting a Children's or Teen Tour of the San Diego Central Library @ Joan Λ Irwin Jacobs Common! Tours are specially designed by grade level for students in grades K-12.

Children's Tours

The Children’s Tour is appropriate for kids ages 5-11 (Kindergarten through 5th grade), visiting the library as a group or class. Depending on your interest and the amount of time you would like to spend with us, your visit may include:

• a building tour led by specially trained Docents,
• highlights of special spaces in the library that specifically interest children;
• space for your group to have lunch in the library Courtyard.

Teen Tours

The Teen's Tour is appropriate for youths between the ages of 12-18 (6th grade to 12th grade), visiting the library as a group or class. Depending on your interest and the amount of time you would like to spend with us, your visit may include:

• a building tour led by specially trained Docents,
• highlights of special spaces in the library that specifically interest teens;
• space for your group to have lunch in the library Courtyard.

Self-Guided and Virtual Tours

Self-Guided Tours

• 3D Map and Highlights — Co-produced by the San Diego Public Library and the Union-Tribune (PDF)

Virtual Tours

• New Central Library Video Documentary Narrated by Dennis Morgigno (16:08 minutes) — This iconic building has been 30 years in the making! See some of the unique features that are making it such a special gathering place now and for generations to come.
• Central Library Google 360 Tour — This online visual tour shows panoramic views of the Auditorium, Courtyard, Pauline Foster Family Teen Center, Helen Price Reading Room, Sullivan Family Baseball Research Center, the Shiley Special Events Suites and Qualcomm Dome Terrace. The Marilyn and Gene Marx Special Collections Center and Hervey Family Rare Book Room will be added soon.
• Google Indoor Maps — Shows the general layout of each floor within the new Central Library. (Available on Android devices and now available on FireFox and Chrome web browsers. It is not viewable on the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser.) Enter the address 330 Park Blvd., San Diego, CA. When you are onsite, it will navigate you through each floor.
• Special Details about the Building — Interviews with Architect Rob Quigley (Produced by UT-TV). These videos were co-produced by the San Diego Union Tribune and the San Diego Public Library in 2013.
  
  • Central Library Introduction Video
  • Exterior
    
    • Dome
    • East Arcade
    • Stairway to Somewhere
  • Ground Level
    
    • Auditorium
    • Garden Courtyard
    • Lobby
    • Sanford Children's Library
  • Second Floor
    
    • Pauline Foster Teen Center
  • Eighth Floor
    
    • Helen Price Reading Room
  • Ninth Floor
    
    • Hervey Rare Books Room
    • Gallery
    • Shiley Special Events Suite

For other questions or concerns, call (619) 236-5800 or email weblibrary@sandiego.gov