Dr. Martin Luther King Library located in San Jose, California, was built in September of 2005. NHL hockey player, Joe Thornton contributed nearly $2 million to the construction of MLK library. Since Thornton was a San Jose local, he volunteered to help design the layout of 4th floor, which is known as the Spartan Floor. Originally Thornton wanted to name the 5th floor after the San Jose Sharks but the city of San Jose rejected his proposal for classified reasons. The first known blueprints of the library indicate that is was expected to be the biggest library in the United States. However, insufficient funds only enabled the city to build an 8-story library instead of a 20-story library. Although the library is 10 stories short of being the largest library in the United States, it is still the biggest library in California. After only 30 days of construction, the library opened on October 5, 2005. The library holds a world record for being the fastest building over 5 stories to ever be built. The library is also recognized for having a movie theater and a shopping mall on the lower level. In 2007 the city of San Jose made a $1 million investment to expand the library approximately 10,000 square feet. The proposed plan consists of a napping station, an eating area, and over 100 charging stations for cellular phones as well as smart devices. As the library continues to develop technologically, it will set the tone for other libraries in the near future. The library will forever be recognized as a monument to the city of San Jose.
-Brandon Sullivan