Allen Cohen, a retired UC Santa Barbara librarian, is an active member of the Santa Barbara literary and arts scene. Allen avidly reads, borrows, and collects books; attends concerts and plays; participates in book clubs at the public library; admires and collects art (with a focus on student work); and donates generously to the activities he cherishes. The arts and culture “are a significant reason for us to go on living,” Allen said.
Considered to be one of the first truly independent labels, Gennett Records will be the next record company to join the Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR), a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78 rpm era edited by a team of researchers at UCSB Library.
In a prime example of inter-library collaboration, the Santa Barbara Public Library (SBPL) recently partnered with the UCSB Library Special Research Collections to preserve more than 3,000 historic photos of Santa Barbara County collected by Santa Barbara native Edson Smith; 104 issues of Santa Barbara County’s first newspaper The Santa Barbara Gazette; and SBPL’s own archives.
Roger O. Camp ticks off all of the boxes as a friend of the UC Santa Barbara Library: alumnus (‘67), collection donor, and Legacy Circle member.
A longtime supporter of the Library, Camp reached out this spring with an inquiry: “Would the Library be interested in acquiring [his] life’s work as a professional photographer?”
The UC Santa Barbara Library has digitized 104 issues of Santa Barbara County’s first newspaper, The Santa Barbara Gazette, making them publicly accessible online. The issues can be viewed via the Library website.
Art power couple Mary Heebner and Macduff Everton have been long-time contributors to Santa Barbara's creative economy. Over the last 30 years, their travels around the world have been the source of inspiration for photojournalism, visual anthropology, papermaking, painting, published books, and more, many examples of which are currently represented in the archives of the UCSB Library's Special Research Collections (SRC).
Art power couple Mary Heebner and Macduff Everton have been long-time contributors to Santa Barbara's creative economy. Over the last 30 years, their travels around the world have been the source of inspiration for photojournalism, visual anthropology, papermaking, painting, published books, and more, many examples of which are currently represented in the archives of the UCSB Library's Special Research Collections (SRC).
Dr. Shirley Kennedy’s motivation to preserve her personal archives began with a flood of rare Southern California rain, which seeped its ruinous way into her materials documenting the 1998 UCSB visit of Regents Scholar Fan Shengqi, a Chinese jazz musician.
This loss stung for Dr. Kennedy, a UCSB Black Studies adjunct professor, who had completed two research trips to China to study the jazz scene, created a documentary featuring Shengqi, and even secured Shengqi’s recognition as a Regents Scholar. His visit was the rewarding culmination of her years of effort.
The American Radio Archives, one of the world’s largest and most valuable collections of radio broadcasting will soon become part of the UC Santa Barbara Library’s Department of Special Research Collections.
The UCSB Library’s Department of Special Research Collections (SRC) prides itself on the preservation of local Santa Barbara history, having acquired and built collections that range from the Carpinteria Chronicle to the 1969 Exxon Valdez oil spill, and much more.
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