[4] The approximately 8,500 items in the collection document the full range of Dr. Seuss's creative achievements, beginning in 1919 with his high school activities and ending with his death in 1991.

However, as faculty recruits began to found social science and humanities departments, it became clear to Chancellor John Semple Galbraith that the time had come to establish the campus's main library collections.

[5] To accomplish this end, he formed a committee which commissioned architect William L. Pereira to prepare a master plan for the University Center and its focal point, the Central Library.

Pereira's plan called for the University Center to be moved north and east, along with the proposed library building.

The Central University Library building's topping-out ceremony took place in December 1969 and its formal dedication was in March 1971.

The project included renovation of the existing facility to comply with safety standards and cost $38 million, provided by California's 1988 Proposition 78.

Although Theodor Geisel did come to renounce his more racially offensive characterizations during an interview for his alma mater of Dartmouth College, there has been no official response by UC San Diego to students requesting a name change.

The building's arches, in combination with the design of the individual floors, are intended to look like hands holding up a stack of books.

Pereira originally conceived of a mushroom-shaped, steel-framed building, but the projected construction and maintenance costs forced him to switch to a reinforced concrete structure.

This change of material presented an opportunity for a more sculptural design, as well as opening up interior spaces that would have been bisected by steel trusses.

It was envisioned that future additions to the original building would form terraced levels around the tower base descending into the canyon.

In keeping with the original master plan, these are "deliberately designed to be subordinated to the strong, geometrical form of the existing library".

Geisel Library also features a life-size bronze statue of its namesake and his most famous character, The Cat in the Hat, on the forum level.

The granite book is engraved with the excerpt "Then Wilt Thou Not Be Loth To Leave This Paradis But Shall Possess A Paradise Within Thee, Happier Far.

[20] Potential theft of library materials and the risks attributed to the potential theft of UC San Diego's rare private collections of literature and art caused the doors to third floor to be protected, to be used only in emergencies or by building personnel to conduct the transfer of equipment to the central core directly to avoid disrupting library operations.