UCLA’s Clark Library Open House: Adopt a Book & Explore Hidden History!

Wait, where am I? I finally made it to the Adopt-a-Book event at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library. This was my first time visiting, and wow, it's one of those moments that I go, how did I not know about this sooner? And let me just say, as a library enthusiast, a UCLA brain, an engineer who loves books and art, it was a total treat. The library isn't usually open to the public, but here at this annual event, you get to walk inside, talk directly to the staff, hear fun stories about Clark Jr.'s life, see some of the rarest books up close, and even take a moment to just sit under a tree with a refreshing Popsicle and soak it all in. Hi, my friends, it's me, Cathy, the library hunter. Our journey started at a reception booth near the beautiful Roman Brick facade. And yes, they have a gorgeous garden. We will circle back to that later. First things first, let's step inside because I could already hear the buzz from inside the library. The energy was so inviting. I couldn't wait to see what was going on. Walking through those doors honestly felt like entering a different world. Ornate furnishings, painted ceilings, rich wood everywhere. This library doesn't feel like the typical research library we have been to before. It's more like a historic mansion that just so happens to house over 130,000 rare books and manuscripts, some dating all the way back to the 15th century. So here's the backstory. This place was built by William Andrews Clark Jr., the son of the so-called Copper King during the Gilded Age. So it's like the old time industrial kind of wealth. After a fire destroyed part of his home in 1923, Clark Jr. decided to build a safe house for his rare book collections. It must be fireproof, earthquake-resistant, and climate-controlled. I'm sure it was quite innovative for his time. In November, this one's warmer and thicker, this one's thinner and smoother. About Clark Jr.'s library idea, it wasn't just on a whim. He sent an architect to study the specialty libraries on the East Coast, like New York Morgan Library, Boston Public Library, and libraries at Harvard University. I know, those are all amazing libraries in the U.S. If you are new to this channel, I do have a series of videos of the libraries in Boston and New York, and there will be more to come. So please like this video and subscribe for more. After absorbing all the inspirations from the East Coast, the Clark Library in Los Angeles was designed to be the one that we are seeing now. This brick-structured library with a gorgeous entrance, grand gathering hall, book rooms with rare arts and collections, basically a book lover's dream mansion. It officially opened in 1926, and honestly, it still feels like it belongs in a period drama. Went to UCLA. Oh, nice, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, but I never heard of this library. Most people have it because it comes to UCLA, right? It's pretty far from Westwood. Yeah. But I wish more people did know about it. Great spot. We do classes for a lot of UCLA courses, so we'll host little reading room visits where they can see material, learn about the collection. But yeah, otherwise, students don't know about it, but I wish they did. This is so great. I think there are some musical events. We have a lot of opera stuff, and it's usually in this room. Oh, inside this room. Classical music, yeah, it's usually in this room. The Clark Library is actually one of UCLA's major libraries, though a lot of people, myself included, had no idea it existed. Oh, did I mention? It's 13 miles from UCLA's main campus. It's funny because it's actually way closer to USC. It's run by the Center for 17th and 18th Century Studies, and they specialize in English literature and history from 1641 to 1800. And Oscar Wilde. Yes, they've owned most of his books and personal papers. During filming, they damaged the books. Like the buildings or the corrals? No, so what they did was part of the grounds and also the wall sconces, they actually ended up tearing them down back, so quote, unquote. Or did they put them back up? Yes, they did. It's actually, so this, everything that you see here is actually the drawing room. So when you go inside into the drawing room, which is the main floor, you'll see. No, so this is the Hampton Court Palace. This is the William and Mary Extension at the Hampton Court Palace. And this is what Farquhar used as an inspiration for the exterior. And then this is the Sala del Collagio in the Doge's Palace in Venice. And this is what Farquhar used as an inspiration for our drawing room. The only difference being, obviously he chose not to use gilt because it would affect acoustics. And you may not have heard of Farquhar, who was the architect, but you've seen his work if you've been to San Francisco. The Palace of Fine Arts is Farquhar's work. Oh, okay. The Clark Library is a functioning research library. Scholars actually come here to work on early modern studies. Although the library is for researchers, the beautiful five acre grounds, basically a park, are open to the public. It's quiet, peaceful, and honestly perfect for Sunday stroll. It is surrounded by spacious lawns, walkways, flower gardens, and various nooks with sculptures and fountains. I love this sundial. It says, when the sun is not shining, I do this for fun. And about the open house, it's so much more than books. The annual open house event with Adopa Book Fair was really popular. We're talking over a thousand visitors. It had everything, self-guided tours through the historical rooms, lawn games, a scavenger hunt. They also have coloring sheets designed with a specialty of the library. Yes, that was a lot of fun. Tasty fruit Popsicles, and even a seed giveaway with flowers like poppies and sunflowers. You could even donate seeds of your own, which feel like such a sweet, down-to-earth way to share the offering of the sunny seasons. Now let's head back inside the library. Did you see any of these items in the library? Okay, so what's adopting a book? At this event, you could adopt a book, not to take it home, which is tempting, I know, but you get to help preserve it. Your donation goes directly toward conservation efforts, like fixing up fragile books, buying new materials, and making the collection accessible for future visitors like us. This one is German, and all of the, as far as we know, it's all signed by German people, and they're either writing in Latin or in French, I think just to show off how educated they are. And this one was done by an Englishman who worked for the East India Company, which is like a huge colonial company that was all over the British Empire, and he knew people, he moved around a lot, and he knew people everywhere. So it has these pretty little hand-cut silhouettes in it, which I really like. But this one is also really cool, because it starts at all, you know, friends would sign their names, and they'd write like maybe a little poem or whatever in the date, and this one spans from this guy, from this person's like his late teens or 20s up until his 60s, so it's something he used his whole life. And he moved around quite a lot, so it's kind of neat that there's a bunch of Germans in here. He lived in India for a really long time, so people that would come stay at his house would sign it, but it has a lot less art than this one. This person had much more artistic friends. So this is a series of playing cards that, and they all have hearts on them, so I was just telling another group of people that I don't know what game this is, but they're playing cards that have the coats of arms from various families, different countries. And so it's printed, the black part is printed, but then it's hand-colored. To me, it feels super meaningful, like you're not just donating, you're becoming part of the book's legacy, helping protect the history so you can keep teaching and inspiring. If you love libraries and museums, old books, architecture, or just need a quiet place to wander, you need to go to Clark Library. It's seriously one of LA's most delightful hidden gems. I came here for the book event and stayed for hours for the vibes, the history, and the popsicles. Thank you for watching, and also thank you to San Jose State University iSchool for their continued support of the channel Library Hunter. See you in our next library adventure. Have fun, bye!