About this Branch

The San Luis Obispo Library is in the heart of the beautiful downtown historic district, directly across from City Hall. The three-story library features a reading patio, Reference and Local History collections, large print and Spanish language collections, and a large collection of movies, music on CD, and books on CD. The library has study rooms, a computer lab, and a bookstore sponsored by the Friends of the Library.

The Children’s Department includes a Spanish  language collection, a Lego construction table and interactive games; and a large collection of juvenile books, music, books on CD, and movies. The teen area is separate from the children’s area and has numerous study tables, and a collection of teen books, books on CD, magazines, and an extensive graphic novel collection.

The San Luis Obispo Library serves as a Regional Library for the Coastal Region of the county library system. The library partners with the San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society, which is located on the first floor of the library.

Parking in Downtown SLO

 Branch Resources

• Computers:7; 1 computer with software for  persons with visual impairments.
• Low vision print magnifier
• Chromebooks: 5
• Microfilm Reader-Printer
• Photocopier: 2
• WiFi: All County Libraries provide free wireless Internet access
• Wireless Printing
• Study Rooms: 2
• Meeting Rooms: 2 (see availability below)

Newspaper Holdings

• Los Angeles Times
• The New York Times
• USA Today
• The Wall Street Journal

 Ongoing Programs

• Storytime
• Teen Programs / 2nd and 3rd Saturdays / 3:30pm in person or Zoom
• SLO Library Events Calendar

Special Features

• Friends Bookstore is operated by the Friends of the San Luis Obispo Library and offers magazines and books for all ages and at a very inexpensive price.
• Local History Collection is a unique collection of San Luis Obispo history books, high school yearbooks, documents, and newspapers on microfilm.
• Passport services are available for those seeking to obtain a US passport, by appointment.
• Genealogy Library: Volunteers from the SLO County Genealogical Society are available to help with your family research. For current hours or to make an appointment, please contact the society at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
• 3D Printer, by appointment 805-781-5775
• Charging Stations on 1^st , 2^nd and 3^rd floors.

Study Rooms

Group Study Rooms are designed to be used by up to six people at a time. Reservations should be made at least 48 hours in advance. In the interest of equal access to all potential users, no more than a total of two reservations per branch per week to any group/person will be permitted. Each reservation cannot exceed two hours at a given time. There is a limit of eight reservations for any representative or group in a one month period.

Reservations can be made in person, over the phone, or online. 

Meeting Rooms

The library building complex includes two rooms available for reservation: the conference room (capacity 40) and the community room (capacity 120). The rooms are managed by the City of San Luis Obispo Department of Parks and Recreation. Reservations may be made by calling 805-781-7222 or online