The Sacramento Room - the 'Jewel in the Crown' of Sacramento's Central Library - is an apt setting for the Sacramento Public Library's Special Collection. The prized collection rests in the original reference room of the 1917 Carnegie-funded City Library, on the second floor of the Central Library, at 828 'I' Street.

The collection includes rare books, maps and photographs of Sacramento city and county history; books by local authors; California profiles; and fine press and book arts. More than 21,000 carefully-chosen printed items are available to researchers, teachers, students, writers, policy makers and others.

The climate-controlled archive is designed for rare materials which may require special preservation, storage or treatment because of their bibliographic significance, physical condition or format. It has been many years since these unique materials were available to researchers. In some cases, they have never been available to the public.

The Room's exhibit cases contain timely displays that will inform library patrons about the various collections and to inspire their research interests. Past exhibits have covered - of note - the Sacramento experience during the First World War, the capital city's lengthy baseball heritage, and a number of different book art collections.

Unique items housed in our climate-controlled vault include prints and original sketches by local artists such as Ted Baggelmann and examples of printing and hand-lettered manuscript pages dating back a thousand years. Single issues of rare magazines and select illustrations dealing with the area and its people can be found alongside one-of-a-kind items like the Daylor Ranch record book and ledger listing purchases made and supplies ordered from 1863 to 1864.

The Sacramento Room is particularly proud of the Frank Appleton journals and photographs covering a period from the late 1800s through the first part of the 20th Century, and the files and films of the Sacramento Amateur Movie Makers Club which include award-winning 8mm and 16mm motion pictures capturing areas and landmarks that no longer exist.

The Sacramento Room depends on donations as well as funding, and many of the items described above found their way to the various collections due to the generosity of the people of Sacramento. An original letter from John Sutter dealing with local agriculture is a cherished part of the local collection and was obtained with available funds and matching contributions. It serves as a prime example of the cooperative spirit that has enabled the Sacramento Room to survive and flourish.