UC Davis Library Centennial: 1908-2008

Over the course of a century the UCD University Library has grown from a ready reference collection for farmers and scientists to a world-class research library, with more than 3 million volumes covering a wider range of disciplines and programs than any other campus in the UC system.

1908

• Library was established in one room of the Creamery Building.
• Gertrude Frances Weber, stenographer and bookkeeper for the University Farm Creamery, became first Librarian.

1913

• Margaret Mayberry became Librarian (also in charge of student records).

1915

• Classroom Building completed. Library occupies two rooms.

1916

• Agnes Elizabeth Brown became Librarian.

1922

• Dorothy Deming became Librarian.

1924

• Library holds 1,840 volumes.
• Nelle U. Branch became Librarian.

1925

• Formal arrangement for the ordering of books on approval was established.
• Periodicals room was opened.
• Reserve book system was set up.

1926

• Library cataloging changed from Dewey to Library of Congress call numbers.

1932

• Art reproductions lent by the California State Library to decorate the Library walls.

1938

• Classroom Building condemned. Library occupied five rooms. Students formed human chain to move the collection to temporary quarters in the Recreation Building behind West Hall.

1940

• New Library/Administration building was completed (current north wing). The new Library had twenty-five employees: three librarians, eight library assistants, and fourteen FTE students.

1943

• U.S. Army Signal Corps took over the campus.

1948

• First graduation of four-year students on the Davis campus held in the Library courtyard (Sunken Garden).

1950

• Veterinary holdings transferred from UC Berkeley to Davis.
• Aerial view of the Library ca 1950.

1951

• J. Richard Blanchard became University Librarian.
• Microforms were made available.
• Agricultural Economics Library was established.
• Library held 72,105 volumes in June 1951 according to the 1950-1951 Annual Report.

1955

• New stack addition built.

1956

• Veterinary Medicine Library was established in room next to the Dean’s office in Haring Hall.

1957

• Library course in bibliographic research offered.
• Food Technology holdings were transferred from UC Berkeley to Davis.

1958

• C.K. Ogden Library was purchased: Davis’ share included a second folio of Shakespeare’s works.
• Air conditioning was installed in the main library.
• Agricultural and Resource Economics Library moves to Voorhies Hall.

1959

• F. Hal Higgins Library of Agricultural Technology was acquired.

1961

• 200,000th book — Lowie’s Selected Papers in Anthropology by DuBois — was acquired.

1964

• Library’s east wing was added.
• Government Documents Department was established.

1965

• Rare books were transferred from Loan Desk to Reference Department.
• Library Associates formed.

1966

• 400,000th book — Principia Philosophiae by Descartes — was acquired.
• University Archives was established.
• Veterinary Medicine Library became Health Sciences Library with founding of School of Medicine.
• Special Collections Department (rare books, archives, and the Higgins collection) was created.
• Serials Department was formed.
• Collection Development Department was established.

1967

• Library’s south wing was added.
• 500,000th book — Illustrations to the Bible by William Blake — was acquired.
• Telefacsimile between UC Davis and UC Berkeley tested.

1968

• Library began inspection of briefcases and bags at the main exit.

1969

• Library became a member of the Association of Research Libraries.

1970

• 750,000th book — Compendius Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster — was acquired.
• Medical Center Library was established at UC Davis Medical Center.

1971

• Physical Sciences and Engineering Library built.

1972

• Remote Searching of Medline database was operational in Health Sciences Library.

1973

• University Library named for Judge Peter J. Shields.
• Library began formal participation in the Mountain Valley Library System.
• Library’s first oral history was completed by Ben Madson.

1974

• 1,000,000th book — Emil Mrak’s oral history — was acquired.
• Bernard Kreissman became University Librarian.

1975

• Library held 1.2 million volumes.

1976

• Automated circulation system was installed.
• Library held 1.4 million volumes.
• Typewriters commonly used in Shields Library.

1977

• University of California Library Plan was presented.
• New Health Sciences Library was opened.
• Automated cataloging of new materials began.

1978

• Library held 1.5 million volumes.

1979

• Biological/Agricultural Sciences Reference Department was established.
• Acquisition of Gary Snyder’s papers began.

1980

• UC Davis became a member of the Research Libraries Group.

1981

• Michael and Margaret B. Harrison Western Research Center became part of the University Library.
• Conservation and Preservation Department created.

1982

• Library received Higher Education Act (Title II-C) grant to catalog the F. Hal Higgins Collection

1983

• MELVYL, the on-line catalog, was made available for public use.

1984

• Northern Regional Library Facility opened.
• William F. McCoy became acting University Librarian.
• Health Sciences Library was named for Loren D. Carlson.
• C.C. Kohler collection of British Poetry acquired.

1985

• Marilyn J. Sharrow became University Librarian.

1986

• 2,000,000th book — L’agriculture et maison rustique by Charles Estienne — was acquired.
• Nikolai P. Prokopovich Collection was acquired.

1987

• Endowment created the Margaret B. Harrison Preservation Department.

1988

• Ground-breaking ceremonies are held for west wing of Peter J. Shields Library.
• Automated acquisitions system (Innopac) was installed.

1989

• J. G. P. (Jacques Goharry Parisien). Devis sur las vigne 1576 was acquired.

1990

• Library’s west wing opened.
• Paul H. DeBach Papers collection was acquired.
• F.H. King manuscript was acquired.

1991

• Automated public catalog system (DRA) was installed.
• “American Farm” exhibit was acquired. The photographic panels that decorate the walls of Shields Library were an exhibit originally mounted by the California Historical Society.
• Chinese Cookbooks collection was acquired.

1994

• Eastman’s Originals collection was acquired.
• Japanese American Citizens League-Florin oral histories were acquired.
• Agricultural and Resource Economics Library moved to Social Sciences and Humanities building.

1996

• A.W. Noling Hurty-Peck Library of Beverage Literature acquired.
• K.W. Lee Papers collection was acquired.

1998

• The British Women Romantic Poets Project began to identify and make accessible on the Internet the works of women poets. The Kohler Collection served as the main source for texts by women poets writing between 1789 and 1832.

1999

• Library Instruction Lab built for hands-on teaching of electronic catalog and databases.
• Sacramento Union Archives were acquired.

2000

• Medical Center Library moved to Redwood Building.

2001

• Wireless access to library collection available in Shields Library.

2002

• UC Davis Libraries implement Ex Libris’ Aleph, the library’s first truly fully integrated library system.
• Library received an LSTA grant to catalog and prepare a finding aid for the Gary Snyder Papers.

2003

• UC Davis ranked in the top third of the more than 120 academic and research libraries in North America.
• Library held 3 million volumes.
• Colby E. “Babe” Slater Collection was acquired.

2005

• Michael and Margaret B. Harrison Western History Center, an internationally known Western Americana library was added.

2006

• UC Davis School of Medicine opens the new Education Building, housing the Blaisdell Medical Library.
• Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation archive collection acquired.

2007

• UC Libraries begin work on WorldCat Local pilot project, a next generation catalog interface that searches the holdings of UC Davis, the systemwide UC libraries, as well as libraries all over the world.

2008

• UC Davis Centennial book–Nuevo Y Sencillo Arte De Cocina, Reposteria Y Refrescos by Antonia Carrillo–was acquired.

Technology has always played an important part in the UC Davis library and on the UC Davis campus. Technology underpins how library materials are acquired, preserved and made accessible to users. For much of the last century, library technology remained static and paper-based. With the advent of computers and the Internet, technology has radically changed how library staff and the campus use the library. Discover how technology has changed in the UC Davis library over the past century, from paper card catalogs to the Next-Generation Melvyl pilot and state-of-the-art instruction facilities.

UC Davis Card Display	Display of the title “College and Research Libraries” from card catalog, used from the beginning of the 20th century until automation in the early 1990s.
Telnet	Screenshot of the title “College and Research Libraries” from telnet library catalog, still in limited use but mainly used from the 1980s-1990s.
Harvest Catalog	Screenshot of the title “College and Research Libraries” from Harvest library catalog, the UC Davis automated library catalog used since 2002.
Shelf List Card	Card catalog card from Shields Library.
Combo Press	Job Backer/Combination press from Margaret Harrison. Used to hold books together during repair or binding. From Shields Library Preservation Department.
Standing Press	Standing press from Margaret Harrison. Used for bookbinding and repair. From Shields Library Preservation Department.
Union list of serials	Union list of serials published by Library of Congress, which stopped publishing them in 1999. From Shields Library.
Typewriter	Typewriter commonly used in Shields Library before the proliferation of personal computer workstations.
Laptop	Laptop from Shields Library, circa 1988.
Scanner	ARIEL workstation currently used in Shields Interlibrary Loan office to fulfill requests for book chapters and articles from the library’s collections.
Microwave Dish	University Librarian J. Richard Blanchard and Chancellor Emil M. Mrak examine the microwave dish that will make material in a major library available everywhere.
Xerox LDX telefacsimile machine	Christie Biagi, a senior at Davis; Gerald Newton, library systems analyst, Richard Blanchard, university librarian; and Emil Mrak check the quality of the work produced by the high speed Xerox LDX telefacsimile machine.
Paper Order Record	Paper order records from Shields Library Acquisitions Department.
Card Sorter	Card sorter from Shields Library. These were used to keep track of card catalog cards before filing.
Stamps	A collection of stamps from Shields Library Acquisitions Department.
Kardex	Kardex from Shields Library Serials Department. This housed paper check-in cards for all of the library’s subscriptions.
Card Catalog	Card catalog from Shields Library.
Kardex Card	Kardex check-in card for the title “California Winelands.”
Guillotine	Challenge guillotine used for cutting large stacks of paper or books. From Shields Library Preservation Department.
Sewing Frame	Sewing frame from Margaret Harrison. Used to hold book pages as they are sewn together. From Shields Library Preservation Department.
KwikPrint	Kwikprint (circa 1923) from Margaret Harrison. Used for stamping. From Shields Library Preservation Department.
Nipping Press	Nipping press from Margaret Harrison. Used for pressing pages into books. From Shields Library Preservation Department.
Type Case	Type case used to store individual letters and numbers for printing. From Shields Library Preservation Department.
Finishing Tools	Finishing tools from Margaret Harrison. Used to make decoraitve or finishing stamps on the binding and pages of books. From Shields Library Preservation Department.
Book Cloths	Book cloths from Margaret Harrison. Used for mending books. From Shields Library Preservation Department.
Victorian Book Cloths	Victorian bookcloths from the 1830s. From Shields Library Preservation Department.
Board Shear	Hickok Board shear from Margaret Harrison. Used to cut heavy boards. From Shields Library Preservation Department.
Sad Irons	Sad irons from Margaret Harrison. Used as weights for books being repaired. From Shields Library Preservation Department.
Shelflist	Part of the first shelflist document, an inventory of materials in the early UC Davis library.
e-links Request Screen	UC Davis faculty, staff and students can request book chapters and articles electronically using the UC e-links request system.
Online Archive of California	UC Davis Special Collections makes digitized finding aids available at the Online Archive of California, as well as a large selection of scanned images and documents.
Melvyl Pilot	The new University of California Libraries Next-Generation Melvyl Pilot, which contains records for holdings at all ten UC campuses and libraries all over the world. In addition, the pilot’s holdings include articles from selected databases, UC books digitized by Google and materials from the Online Archive of California, UC eScholarship Repository, and UC Press.
Melvyl Pilot Search	An example of a search on the Next-Generation Melvyl Pilot, with options to limit by format, author, year or topic.
Computer Stations	Shields Library offers workstations to UC Davis faculty, staff and students, as well as the general public. These workstations allow users to access UC Davis’ library catalog, as well as the UC systemwide holdings in the Melvyl catalog, and thousands of databases and electronic resources.
Wireless Access	Wireless access is available in Shields Library, as well as the Physical Sciences and Engineering, Carlson Health Sciences and Blaisdell Medical Libraries.
IET computer lab	An Informational & Educational Technology computer lab in Shields Library offers limited free printing for UC Davis students, as well as access to Microsoft Office, Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Library Instruction Lab	The Library Instruction Laboratory in Shields Library is a hands-on instruction lab with workspace for 25 students, and two instructor stations. The lab includes a color printer networked to all the workstations, a visual presenter and digital recording equipment for podcasting.
BML Announcement	Blaisdell Medical Library in Sacramento has state-of-the-art facilities including video screens for announcements.
BML Work Stations	Workstations at Blaisdell Medical Library in Sacramento, where users can access UC Davis and UC systemwide holdings as well as databases, electronic journals and other electronic resources for research.
BML Collaboration Room	Collaboration rooms at Blaisdell Medical Library, where users can reserve rooms for multimedia presentations, telephone and video conference calling and SMART board interactive whiteboard technology.
BML Video Board	A librarian at Blaisdell Medical Library demonstrates the interactive whiteboard technology during a research consultation session.
GIS Workstation	GIS (geographic information system) workstations in Shields Library, where users can access ArcGIS Desktop 9.2 software for spatial data research. A Map/GIS librarian is available for assistance in using these technologies.
GIS Scanner	The 11″ x 17″ color scanner is available for maps and aerial photography in conjunction with the GIS workstations.

The UC Davis University Library consists of the Peter J. Shields Library, the Physical Sciences & Engineering Library, the Carlson Health Sciences Library, and the Blaisdell Medical Library in Sacramento. The library buildings and facilities have gone through a number of changes to address the needs of the growing campus. Here you will see the timeline covering the construction of the various library buildings that make up the UC Davis University Library.

Early Buildings that housed the Library

Creamery Building	Creamery Building, 1908-1915
Classroom Building	Classroom Building, 1915-1938
Old Rec Hall	Old Rec Hall, 1938-1940

Shields Library (1940-present)

Library Administration	Library Administration, 1940-present
East Wing	East Wing, 1964-present
South Wing	South Wing, 1967-present
West Entrance	West Entrance, 1990-present

Agricultural and Resource Economics Library (1951-present)

Voorhies Hall	Voorhies Hall, 1958-1994
Ag Econ Library	1994-present

Physical Sciences and Engineering Library (1971-present)

PSE Building

1971-present

Loren D. Carlson Health Sciences Library (1977-present)

Surge II Building	Surge II, 1966
HSL Building	Medical Sciences 1B, 1977-present

F. William Blaisdell, M.D., Medical Library (1929-present)

Professional Building	Professional Building, 1974-2000
Redwood Building	Redwood Building, 2000-2006
Blaisdell Medical Library	Blaisdell Medical Library Building, 2006-present

1924

• Library holds 1,840 volumes.
• Nelle U. Branch became Librarian.
  • Nelle Branch came to Davis in 1924 to become its first professional librarian. The Library occupied two rooms on the first floor, west end of the Classroom Building and housed 1,840 titles, mostly bulletins, circulars and reports from the U.S.D.A. Over the course of her 27-year career she built the collection to more than 80,000 volumes, implemented the Library of Congress cataloging system, established extensive serials holdings in agriculture, animal science and veterinary medicine, apiculture, and viticulture and enology. She also set up the Periodicals Reading Room and the reserve book system. After she retired in 1951, she lived in Davis and was active in the Davis Library Club and Library Associates.

1926

• Library cataloging changed from Dewey to Library of Congress call numbers.

1950

• Veterinary holdings transferred from UC Berkeley to Davis.
• Aerial view of the Library ca 1950

  • Aerial view of the Library ca 1950

1951

• Library held 72,105 volumes in June 1951 according to the 1950-1951 Annual Report.

1956

• Veterinary Medicine Library was made a branch of the library system.

1957

• Food Technology holdings are transferred from UC Berkeley to Davis.

1958

• C.K. Ogden Library was purchased: Davis’ share included a second folio of Shakespeare’s works.

1959

• F. Hal Higgins Library of Agricultural Technology was acquired.

1961

• 200,000th book — Lowie’s Selected Papers in Anthropology by DuBois — was acquired.

1964

• Government Documents Department is established.

1965

• Rare books are transferred from Loan Desk to Reference Department.
• Library Associates formed.

1966

• 400,000th book — Principia Philosophiae by Descartes — is acquired.
• University Archives is established.
• Veterinary Medicine Library became Health Sciences Library with founding of School of Medicine.
• Special Collections Department (rare books, archives, and the Higgins collection) is created.
• Collection Development Department is established.
• Construction of the library’s south wing ca 1966

1967

• 500,000th book — Illustrations to the Bible by William Blake — was acquired.

1970

• 750,000th book — Compendius Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster — was acquired.
• Medical Center Library was established at UC Davis Medical Center.

1974

• 1,000,000th book — Emil Mrak’s oral history — was acquired.

1975

• Library holds 1.2 million volumes.

1976

• Library holds 1.4 million volumes.

1978

• Library holds 1.5 million volumes.

1979

• Biological/Agricultural Sciences Reference Department was established.
• Acquisition of Gary Snyder’s papers begins.

1980

• UC Davis became a member of the Research Libraries Group.

1981

• Michael and Margaret B. Harrison Western Research Center became part of the University Library.
• Conservation and Preservation Department created.

1986

• 2,000,000th book — L’agriculture et maison rustique by Charles Estienne — was acquired.
• Nikolai P. Prokopovich Collection acquired.
  Geologist for the US Bureau of Reclamation. Reports, memoranda, photographs and books relating to the California Central Canal, subsidence, and hydrocompaction. First major California water collection.

1987

• Endowment created the Margaret B. Harrison Preservation Department.

1988

• Kenneth Kew Collection acquired.
  Wine merchant for Draper Esquine in San Francisco. Kew had been a student at UCD. The papers followed his career from his student days until his retirement.

1989

• J. G. P. (Jacques Gohorry, Parisien). Devis sur la vigne. 1576
  First French vernacular book relating to wine.

1990

• Paul H. DeBach Papers acquired.
  DeBach’s pioneering work in the field of integrated pest management and in the biological control of insect pests and weeds supports our collecting in entomology and organic farming. This was an instance of cooperation with UC Riverside (custodian of the collection) and the Entomological Society of America, Pacific Branch (scholarly group) in moving the collection to UC Davis where it could be more readily used.
• King, F. H.
  Observations on crop and soil management methods and practices in China, Manchuria, Korea and Japan. Typed notes and original photographs taken in the field for the author’s book, Farmers of forty centuries.

1991

• “American Farm” exhibit acquired.
  The photographic panels that decorate the walls of Shields Library were an exhibit originally mounted by the California Historical Society.
• Chinese Cookbooks collection acquired.
  Gardner Pond and Peter Hertzman donated their collections of Chinese cookbooks in English. This became the first collection searchable by provenance on MELVYL.

1994

• Eastman’s Originals Collection acquired.
  First image database created by the Library.
• Japanese American Citizens League-Florin oral histories acquired.
  Cooperated with CSU Sacramento to provide MARC cataloging.

1996

• A.W. Noling Hurty-Peck Library of Beverage Literature acquired.
  Expanded our already strong beverage holdings.
• K.W. Lee Papers acquired.
  First collection submitted to the California Digital Library’s California Cultures site.

1999

• Sacramento Union Archives acquired.
  A substantial collection of late 20th century local history images.

2003

• Colby E. “Babe” Slater Collection acquired.
  First collection to come with funding to support cataloging and archival supplies.
• Library holds 3 million volumes.

2005

• Michael and Margaret B. Harrison Western History Center added.
  An internationally known Western Americana library.

2006

• Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation archive collection acquired.

2008

• UC Davis Centennial book: UC Davis Centennial book—Nuevo Y Sencillo Arte De Cocina, Reposteria Y Refrescos by Antonia Carrillo—was acquired.

Celebrating the past and planning to build for the next 100 years. Look back at UC Davis’ history that began even before the doors opened in 1908, and see how we have grown from a pioneering “ag” school into a world-class university ranked among the best. Visit the campus site for more information.