• A to Z Listing
• Campus Map
• Find People

UCR Today: New News, New Look. Go!

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — An exhibit of photographs portraying 125 years of Riverside County library history is on display in the lobby of the UC Riverside Science Library. The exhibit, “The Libraries of Riverside County . . . A Millennium of Service,” opened Friday, Nov. 2, and continues through Nov. 26.

Sponsored by the Riverside County Library System, the traveling exhibit depicts public, private, academic, medical and tribal libraries from across the 7,200 square miles that comprise Riverside County.

The libraries have endured world wars, the Great Depression, budget cuts and constant technological change in the 21st century.

Among the exhibit photographs are three UCR libraries, including the Riverside Citrus Experiment Station Library, the Tomás Rivera Library and the Science Library.

Sherry Martinez, local history librarian for the Riverside County Library System, developed the concept of the exhibit and spent months plumbing Riverside county libraries and archives for photographs of current and former library buildings.

“It has always been in the back of my mind to do this,” said Martinez. “The existence of libraries in this county has spanned three centuries. A lot of them have been lost. We tried to capture what we could of the past."

Many of the libraries have celebrated their centennials. Others are only a few months old.

“The real goal of the exhibit is to raise awareness of the history of our communities,” Martinez said.

More information about the exhibit is available at UCR Libraries.

The University of California, Riverside (www.ucr.edu) is a doctoral research university, a living laboratory for groundbreaking exploration of issues critical to Inland Southern California, the state and communities around the world. Reflecting California's diverse culture, UCR's enrollment has exceeded 21,000 students. The campus opened a medical school in 2013 and has reached the heart of the Coachella Valley by way of the UCR Palm Desert Center. The campus has an annual statewide economic impact of more than $1 billion.

A broadcast studio with fiber cable to the AT&T Hollywood hub is available for live or taped interviews. UCR also has ISDN for radio interviews. To learn more, call (951) UCR-NEWS.