California State Library
The California State Library is a Sacramento-based California state government agency, established in 1850, that provides free library, archival, and K-12 educational content services (notably the COMPASS platform used by 90%+ of California public schools) to residents, state employees, and public schools statewide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1850
- HeadquartersSacramento, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What California State Library does
The California State Library is a California state government agency established in 1850 and headquartered in Sacramento that serves as the state's central reference, research, and library-coordination body. It serves four primary constituencies: the general public (including a specialized California History Room and genealogy collections), California state government employees and officials (via the California Research Bureau and legislative reference services), California's K-12 public schools (via the COMPASS program), and blind or print-disabled residents (via the Braille and Talking Books program). It also functions as a federal and state depository library and operates physical exhibit spaces including the Governors' Gallery and First Ladies Gallery.
The agency's core product platform is COMPASS (Connecting Californians to School Success), a free, statewide K-12 educational content portal launched in 2017 and used by more than 90% of California public schools, with cumulative student searches exceeding 717 million between 2018 and 2025. COMPASS integrates licensed content from a federated set of providers including Britannica, ProQuest, TeachingBooks, Gale, Capstone/PebbleGo, PBS, and Alexander Street, with STEAM coverage added in 2021. Additional service channels include the Digital Concierge Program for remote resident assistance, the Online Catalog (Sacramento Public Library), and accessibility-certified web properties (WCAG 2.2 Level AA, certified March 2025).
The California State Library does not generate commercial revenue; it is funded through California General Fund appropriations supplemented by federal IMLS grants. All services are provided free of charge to end users, and the agency holds statutory monopoly over state-level library coordination and federal depository administration. Its 2025 operating environment was disrupted by the termination of an IMLS federal grant and an internal audit that identified $1.1M in misused Imagination Library program funds.
California State Library firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- California State Library
- Legal name
- California State Library
- Website
- https://library.ca.gov
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1850
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- The California State Library is a Sacramento-based California state government agency, established in 1850, that provides free library, archival, and K-12 educational content services (notably the COMPASS platform used by 90%+ of California public schools) to residents, state employees, and public schools statewide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
California State Library industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Public Library Services
- NAICS
- Libraries and Archives (51921), Libraries and Archives (519210), Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (5192), Executive, Legislative, and Other General Government Support (921)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Public Libraries & Information Services (BPAIACAO)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Digital Library & Electronic Resources Operations (e-Resources, Repositories, Licensing) (EDAEAGAF), Library-Based Learning Programs (Public Libraries) (EDAAAFAA), Government, Public Policy & Regulatory Reference (Public Administration, Regulatory Guidance) (EDAGAGAK)
Keywords
Where California State Library is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Sacramento
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices3 records
Markets served
California State Library business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Government Appropriations: Funded through California state government taxpayer appropriations. The library receives annual budget allocations from the state to operate its services, collections, and programs including COMPASS K-12 resources.
- Federal Grants: Receives federal grant funding including grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The library received notice of termination of a federal grant by IMLS as noted in 2025 press releases.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Annual | Free access for all California K-12 public schools and libraries |
| Freemium | Annual | Free library card for California residents |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels6 records
California State Library product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The California State Library operates as the official state library of California, providing free library, archival, and research services to California residents, state government employees, public libraries, and K-12 schools. Its flagship offerings include the COMPASS K-12 online educational content program, California History and Genealogy collections, Government Publications, the State Law Library, Braille and Talking Books accessibility services, the Digital Concierge digitization program, and policy research through the California Research Bureau.
Product overview
The California State Library operates as the state government's primary research library and archives institution, offering a portfolio of both digital and physical services. Its flagship digital education program is COMPASS (California Online Media Program for Access and Student Success), a platform providing free K-12 online educational content through multiple content providers including Encyclopaedia Britannica, TeachingBooks, ProQuest databases, Gale STEAM resources, Capstone's PebbleGo Science, PBS Video Collection, and Alexander Street performing arts collections. COMPASS integrates with school SSO systems (Clever, Google, ClassLink) for authentication. The library also provides the California Research Bureau for policy research, digital collections and exhibits, genealogy databases, government publications, a State Law Library, Sutro Library, Braille and Talking Books accessibility services, a Digital Concierge Program for state government digitization, the California Grants Portal, and the State Document Depository Program. The Governors' Gallery and First Ladies Gallery provide digital archives of California political history.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- COMPASS: The California Online Media Program for Access and Student Success - a program providing online educational content from Britannica, ProQuest, TeachingBooks, Gale, and Capstone for K-12 public school students and libraries statewide.
- California Research Bureau
- Governors' Gallery
- First Ladies Gallery
Products and services
- COMPASS (California Online Media Program for Access and Student Success) Statewide K-12 digital content program providing free online educational resources including encyclopedias, databases, streaming video, eBooks, and literacy tools to all California public schools, charter schools, and local libraries. Integrates SSO with Clever, Google, and ClassLink.
- California Research Bureau Reports
Quantifiable outcome
- 717+ million student/educator searches and investigations through COMPASS (2018-2025)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use California State Library
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
California State Library technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration10 records
Feature4 records
California State Library partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Dollywood FoundationminorPartnership to implement Dolly Parton's Imagination Library child literacy program in California, delivering books to children statewide. The relationship was redirected following controversy over mismanagement of funds through the Strong Reader Partnership nonprofit.
- Riverside County Office of EducationcoreState Library partner for the COMPASS program since its launch in July 2017. Manages the competitive contracting process for content providers and reviews the program periodically.
- Encyclopaedia BritannicacoreContent provider for COMPASS K-12 program offering Britannica School (PreK-12) and Britannica Escolar. Provides online encyclopedia resources vetted for student data privacy.
- ProQuest (Clarivate)coreContent provider for COMPASS offering multiple resources including PBS Video Collection, eLibrary, SIRS Discoverer/Issues Researcher, CultureGrams, Research Companion, eBooks, Central Student, and Alexander Street performing arts collections.
- TeachingBookscoreContent provider for COMPASS offering book guides, lesson plans, author videos, diverse books resources, and multimedia educational content. Also hosts the main setup form for California institutions.
- Gale (Cengage)coreSTEAM resources provider for COMPASS including Gale In Context: Environmental Studies, Gale Interactive: Science, and Gale Presents: National Geographic Kids. Added December 2021.
- Capstone (PebbleGo Science)coreEarly literacy resource provider for COMPASS offering PebbleGo Science for K-2 students with content in English and Spanish. Added January 2024 following an RFP for early literacy resources.
- California Public Library DepositoriescoreNetwork of 50+ full and selective depository libraries across California's 58 counties receiving state publications, including major university libraries (UC Berkeley, UCLA, Stanford, UC Davis, UC San Diego), public library systems (Los Angeles Public Library, San Francisco Public Library), and law libraries.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
California State Library competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- New York State Library: New York's state library serves residents, state government, and K-12 with similar regulatory mandate and program mix including NOVELny (a state-funded K-12 database program analogous to COMPASS). It is the closest operational peer to California State Library.
- Texas State Library and Archives Commission: Texas's state library and archives agency provides similar functions including TexQuest, a statewide K-12 database consortium closely analogous to COMPASS, plus government publications and historical collections. Comparable mandate and scale for a large state.
- Library of Michigan: Michigan's state library provides comparable services including MeL (Michigan eLibrary) databases for K-12 and statewide coordination of public libraries. Direct state-level peer in mandate and offerings.
- State Library of Ohio: Ohio's state library operates INFOhio, a K-12 digital resources network with similar structure to COMPASS, plus direct public library support and government document distribution. Comparable mission and operating model.
Others
- OCLC: Library cooperative providing shared infrastructure (cataloging, interlibrary loan via WorldCat). California State Library uses Ex Libris/Primo for its discovery layer; OCLC is the broader ecosystem participant supporting library technology and resource sharing.
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: Online encyclopedia provider supplying Britannica School and Britannica Escolar through COMPASS. A core content supplier whose renewal directly affects K-12 adoption and engagement metrics.
- ProQuest (Clarivate): Major content vendor supplying multiple COMPASS resources (ProQuest Central Student, eLibrary, SIRS, PBS Video, Alexander Street). A primary technology/integration partner for the flagship K-12 program.
Broad incumbents
- Library of Congress: The national library provides federal-level legislative and government document services similar to California's State Law Library, plus broader cultural heritage programs. Larger and not focused on a single state's K-12, but overlapping on government publications and research functions.
- Digital Public Library of America: National nonprofit aggregator of digital collections from libraries and archives. Complementary to the California State Library's Digital Concierge Program and California History Collection; serves as a distribution channel for state-level digitization efforts.
Emerging players
- Internet Archive: Nonprofit digital library offering universal access to digitized books, audio, video, and web pages. Competes for digital preservation and lending use cases that overlap with California State Library's online collections and Braille/Talking Books services.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
California State Library social profiles
Digital presenceCalifornia State Library compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
California State Library financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
California State Library leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
California State Library funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
California State Library M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about California State Library
What does California State Library do?
The California State Library operates as the official state library of California, providing free library, archival, and research services to California residents, state government employees, public libraries, and K-12 schools. Its flagship offerings include the COMPASS K-12 online educational content program, California History and Genealogy collections, Government Publications, the State Law Library, Braille and Talking Books accessibility services, the Digital Concierge digitization program, and policy research through the California Research Bureau.
Is California State Library a public or private company?
California State Library is a private company. It is classified as state government owned and is currently operating.
When was California State Library founded?
California State Library was founded in 1850. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is California State Library based?
California State Library is headquartered in Sacramento, United States, in the North America region.
How does California State Library make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Government Appropriations are the primary driver. The others are federal Grants.
Who are California State Library's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are New York State Library, Texas State Library and Archives Commission, Library of Michigan and State Library of Ohio. Others are OCLC, Encyclopaedia Britannica and ProQuest (Clarivate). Broad incumbents are Library of Congress and Digital Public Library of America. Internet Archive is listed as an emerging player.
Does California State Library have an API?
No public API is recorded for California State Library.
What industry is California State Library in?
California State Library's product category is Public Library Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAIACAO, Public Libraries & Information Services, with a secondary code of EDAEAGAF, Digital Library & Electronic Resources Operations (e-Resources, Repositories, Licensing). Its NAICS code is 51921 and its SIC code is 8200.