About the Project

Early in 2003, Los Gatos Public Library began a local history project in response to a community that loves its cultural heritage. Staff set about organizing and cataloging existing library materials of an historic nature, some dating to the 19th century. Many of the items are fragile and needed to be stored in appropriate acid-free containers. A small Local History Room was established at the library in order to provide work space for staff and volunteers and to increase security for the many valuable and irreplaceable materials in our archives.

The library was soon joined in its preservation efforts by the Museums of Los Gatos. Both the public library and the history museum wish to preserve and make accessible those materials which can help residents know and better understand the community's heritage. Both organizations have limited staff and funding, but both also have valuable, important, and often complementary collections relating to our history. The idea of a partnership, formed especially in an effort to digitize our historic images, seemed like a natural thing to do. The two institutions had existed “side-by-side” for many years, and in fact are located across-the-street from each other, but had not worked together in a significant way in the past. Collaboration between Peggy Conaway, Los Gatos Public Library Director, and Laura Bajuk, Executive Director of the Museums of Los Gatos, resulted in the 2004 creation of Hooked on Los Gatos - the Library and Museum History Project.

In order to obtain funding for the digitization project, the library and museum applied for grants as partners. Those efforts met with success as grant money was awarded and gifts were received from the community and beyond. Funding was adequate to support a part-time librarian for oversight and management of the project, and to purchase a server and software to host the digitized images. This beginning soon evolved into plans for a large shared database of historic images available over the Web. The database, accessible at historylosgatos.org, came to full fruition in July, 2009, when our digital library of nearly 6,000 photographs and other historic images was completed after five years of effort by staff and a core of dedicated volunteers. With this solid foundation in place, the database will continue to grow in future years as more images are discovered and donated for digititation.

Outcomes of the History Project, in addition to the comprehensive database, include four local history books and a full-length documentary film. The books, all from Arcadia Publishing, include: Images of America: Los Gatos, 2004, by Peggy Conaway; Images of Rail: Railroads of Los Gatos, 2006, by Edward Kelley with Peggy Conaway; Images of America: Los Gatos Generations, 2007, by Peggy Conaway; and Postcard History Series: Los Gatos, 2009, by Stephanie Ross Mathews and the Los Gatos Library and Museum History Project. In 2005, the History Project provided many of the images and much of the research for a state-of-the-art documentary film titled Los Gatos: Then and Now, written and produced by local filmmakers Valerie Archer and John Wainwright of Lyric Media, Los Gatos. The documentary film represents a unique partnership among a public agency (the library), a non-profit agency (the museum), and private enterprise.

Well over 100 individuals and 30 companies, organizations, clubs and associations have contributed funding, equipment, time and historic images to Hooked on Los Gatos, the Library and Museum History Project. About 30 family collections are represented in our cooperative database. To date, our digital library includes photographs, maps, death records, letters, meeting minutes, programs, and some newspaper articles and other printed materials. The Los Gatos Weekly Times has generously allowed scanning of their photo archives. Students, researchers, genealogists and people who just love history will appreciate the wealth and depth of information now available on the history of Los Gatos.

Research is often necessary to date and identify historic images. Please click here to access our Local History Mystery Pages and see if you can help. (If you have information to contribute or wish to suggest corrections, please e-mail the project at history@losgatosca.gov.) If you are interested in serving as a volunteer researcher or docent in the Library's History Room, please contact Monica Renn, the Town's volunteer coordinator, at (408) 354-6820. Donations of photographs or other historic printed materials are accepted as they are appropriate to the collection. Or, if you would just like to have your significant pre-1975 photographs or other materials considered for scanning and addition to the history database, please contact Peggy Conaway, Library Director, at (408) 354-6895 to set up an appointment to discuss your collection. (Materials do not have to be permanently donated to the project in order to appear in the database.)