Public invited to Doe Library’s centennial party

ATTENTION: Reporters covering higher education, architecture, technology and book editors

WHAT:

An open house to celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the University of California, Berkeley’s Doe Library, and to glimpse its future.  The event is free and open to the public.

The “Heart of the Campus: Doe Library 1912-2012” exhibit showcasing Doe’s history is in the Bernice Layne Brown Gallery at Doe’s north entrance through Aug. 31.

WHEN:

Wednesday, March 21

 3 – 4:30 p.m.

Explore areas of the library rarely open to the public, including its Preservation, Conservation, and Treatment Department; Newspapers/Microforms storage area; and Data Lab.

Check out the “Heart of the Campus” exhibit; millions of books in the Gardner Stacks; the recently restored North Reading Room and Heyns Reading Room; and a portrait of campus namesake Bishop Berkeley on display in Heyns.

Listen as Doe librarians discuss Doe’s history and spectacular special collections; tune in to the California Golden Overtones, University Chamber Chorus, the UC Men’s Octet and Cal Band; or watch a traditional Sundanese (West Java, Indonesia) dance performance.

4:30 p.m. 

Enjoy free birthday cupcakes in Room 190.

5:30 – 7 p.m. “Celebrating a Century: The University Library at 100,” Morrison Library

UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau will join novelist and UC Berkeley English professor Maxine Hong Kingston, linguist Geoffrey Nunberg of UC Berkeley’s School of Information, UC Berkeley alumna and author Annie Barrows, and Associated Students of the University of California President Vishali Loomba for tributes to Doe Library and its treasures.

DETAILS:

Opened during the 1911–1912 academic year, Doe Library quickly became the campus’s scholarly and architectural centerpiece. Today, the building designed by John Galen Howard is a national landmark and holds about 2.5 million volumes, in more than 400 languages.  More details about the Doe centennial are online.