The Fresno County Library wants to record for posterity those once-in-a-lifetime days when you had a full head of hair and only one chin, ran for touchdowns, wore the coolest clothes, read books throughout the day and kept a sharp eye on that special someone among your peers.

The library wants high school yearbooks. Believe it or not, they're priceless history.

Early June in the San Joaquin Valley means the end of another school year. For many students, it also means a week or two of yearbook mania -- checking out photos in the annual tomes, writing comments to friends in their copies, perhaps wishing you had shown up for the Spanish Club group snapshot.

For Bill Secrest Jr., librarian in the California Genealogy and History Room at the downtown county library, early June means another opportunity to add to the library's collection of yearbooks from Fresno County high schools.

"What we try to do here is document the whole story of Fresno County," Secrest said. "We go after just about any scrap of information that has to do with the county. The yearbooks are an important part of that history."

Secrest said Linda Sitterding, now Madera County librarian, started the collection in the 1990s. The library has some yearbooks from local colleges and elementary schools, but most of the collection, which is listed on the library's website, comes from high schools.

The oldest yearbooks date from Fresno High School in the late 19th century. Fresno Tech, which no longer exists, is represented in the collection. There are many gaps, but Secrest estimates the collection has almost 3,000 volumes (including duplicates).

Secrest said he wants extras because many yearbooks, especially the older ones, have inexpensive binding that can fall apart. Sometimes, yearbooks also fall prey to someone hiding a razor blade to cut out pictures, he said.

Sentiment is part of the collection's inspiration, but not its main purpose.

"Some of these qualify as rare books," Secrest said. "All are a piece of history. They're a miniature time capsule."

Secrest said the collection grows in many ways. Schools donate them. Library employees keep an eye on estate and yard sales. Used-book store owners sometimes call with a find. Yearbook owners occasionally give away their last written connection to high school.

But most people cherish their yearbooks, as do their heirs, Secrest said. Each edition also has a one-time, limited printing. He said that's why the library must be so diligent in filling gaps in its collection.

You can't check out the yearbooks, but access is easy -- walk into the California history room on the downtown branch's second floor and ask for a specific school and specific year.

Secrest said the collection gets a steady stream of readers. He said he and staff members don't ask why. But, he added, readers sometimes let slip their motive -- a long-dormant affair of the heart.

"The years have elapsed, they're divorced or widowed, and they think somebody might be available," Secrest said.

Secrest made three other quick points about yearbooks.

First, content changes with technology.

Early in the 20th century, the books were heavy with prose. Photography was rudimentary and photos expensive to reproduce. With the advent of 35-millimeter photography before World War II, yearbooks suddenly had more photos and fewer posed shots.

Second, older yearbooks often are full of unusual details -- quirky things in the background such as a building now long gone.