In 1957 the Jewish Community Center moved from its original location, a storefront on El Cajon Boulevard and 32nd Street in North Park to 54th Street between El Cajon Boulevard and University Avenue. When Joseph Astor became the director of the new JCC, he moved the library, which then had 538 volumes, to the art gallery. Mollie Harris, a professional librarian, was engaged very soon after and she and Joseph Astor set out to develop a Jewish community library. In 1970 the Astor Family provided funds for a library facility which was named the Samuel and Rebecca Astor Judaica Library, in memory of the Astor Family parents. The Astor Family also established a memorial fund for books on Israel, in memory of Tillie Lawrence Omens, mother of M. Larry Lawrence, chief benefactor of the library. The library was dedicated by Dr. Jacob Bronowski and ten years later, in 1980, there were over 5,800 volumes in the library. In that year, the Jewish Historical Society of San Diego first met in the library. The library was the center of Jewish literary life until 1996 when it was put into storage for several years prior to its move to the Lawrence Family JCC in University City. The 54th Street JCC closed in 1998. Mollie Harris was librarian at the library in the 54th Street JCC, from the early 1960s until 1996. During her tenure as librarian, she built the library from a very small collection to almost 20,000 volumes. She initiated and organized an annual Jewish book fair, held regular book reviews with the help of Ida Nasatir, and engaged notable Jewish literary speakers, such as I.B. Singer and Elie Wiesel.