Tucson’s downtown library has a history that is as long as it is revealing about the changing questions and interests of local government.
The Tucson Public Library started out on the top floor of city hall in 1883; then, with the help of a $25,000 grant from Andrew Carnegie, was moved to Sixth Avenue — the current home of the Children’s Museum.
It was only in May 1990 that the main library moved into its current home at the site of the Jácome’s department store on Stone Avenue, and was named in honor of former Tucson City Manager Joel D. Valdez…