Laying the Library Foundation, 2007-2008

Berkeley's excellence in teaching, research, and public service is founded on the University Library. Opened in 1868 with a collection of a thousand books, the Library now holds more than ten million volumes. It ranks as one of the world's great research collections.

Berkeley's world-class education and research depend on ready access to a comprehensive record of human knowledge and the latest discoveries in every field. In order to offer this critical access to faculty and students, the Library adds an astounding amount of printed and electronic resources, rare materials, and new collections each year.

A one-year special campaign through fall 2008 will raise $3 million to help sustain the finest library of any public research institution in the country. Laying the Library Foundation commemorates the laying of the cornerstone of Doe Memorial Library in 1908. These funds will help meet priority needs for Library programs and collections, especially those benefiting undergraduate education, the core of the University's mission.

Over the past century and a half, the University Library has grown to include 34 separate libraries or collections. Many of the collections have been recognized for the rare and unusual items they contain–including the Mark Twain Papers, historic Chinese monumental rubbings, thousands of photographs documenting the history of California, and one of the country's largest collections of Egyptian papyri. Across campus, subject libraries at Berkeley's schools and colleges support dozens of specialized research areas.

Support of the Laying the Library Foundation campaign will enable Cal scholars to teach and learn, to reflect on the past and shape the future, and to advance human understanding.