Harrison Memorial Library is the public library of the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea. Library service in Carmel began in 1906, when the Carmel Free Library Association began lending books from a little redwood building. For a fee of one dollar per year, people could borrow any one of 500 books from the Association's "Reading Room" heated by a wood burning stove. The Local History Department is the archives for Carmel-by-the-Sea, and is devoted to acquiring, preserving, and making available historically significant items concerning the history of Carmel. These collections include: photographs, books, letters, diaries, programs, manuscripts, maps, scrapbooks, and works of art.
The Harrison Memorial Library's digital collection at California Revealed consists of still images, texts, moving images, and audio recordings from the 1900s to 2000s. A majority of the collection consists of photographs depicting theater performances by the Forest Theater of Carmel. The collection also includes oral history interviews and written diaries by Herbert Heron, founder and actor of Forest Theater.