It’s the trees you notice first. Along the north wall of the Social Research Library’s reading room, grand windows place you among a stand of redwoods, their canopy just beyond the glass. The room’s tall ceilings and pale green walls deepen the effect, as though you’ve stepped away from the busy confines of the UC Berkeley campus and into a hidden forest. Serenity awaits — and you are welcome here.
Last week, dedicated donors gathered in Haviland Hall to learn more about one of the UC Berkeley Library’s most distinctive — and quietly transformative — spaces. The event honored members of the Library Legacy Circle, whose estate gifts sustain the organization’s work for future generations, while offering a closer look at how the Social Research Library is reimagining its services to ensure that students feel both supported and at ease.
“We wanted to evolve the space as a home for the diversity of students who were visiting,” said Sarah Rosenkrantz, UC Berkeley’s politics and social policy librarian. “And we wanted to make sure that we were being welcoming and affirming of what they were coming here to do, which maybe wasn’t as simple as just grabbing a book and studying.”
Rosenkrantz and Angelica Valera-Martinez, collections project assistant for the Library’s Social Sciences Division, shared how that philosophy has taken shape through a series of thoughtful, outside-the-box initiatives designed to make the space more inviting. These include offering snacks to students, displaying a panorama of completed puzzles, and providing a collection of board games. Fidgets and headphones will soon be available to borrow as well.
That intentionality has had the desired effect, according to Rosenkrantz.
“(Students are) like, ‘Oh, this is my sanctuary — this is my fun space,’” she said. “And sometimes students come in and they’re like, ‘Oh, can I get a snack?’ Which might seem like, why would a library want to do that? But for us, it’s that touchpoint. … We can ask questions: ‘How are things going? Do you have what you need? Are you having trouble accessing anything?’ And those high touchpoints really matter for us. That’s really what creates an engaging environment.”
Elizabeth Friedman Branoff, the UC Berkeley Library’s executive director of development, said the work reflects the importance of “third spaces.” Classrooms and homes, she noted, can carry expectations or pressure for students, while libraries can be places “where they’re welcome no matter who they are, or where they can … get support without being judged or graded.”
Friedman Branoff thanked donors, noting that their support helps sustain these kinds of spaces and the programs that bring them to life.
Supporters Sherry Bringham ’59 and Jackie Olson were among those impressed by the Social Research Library, describing it as “lovely.”
Neither had previously been inside Haviland Hall, the 102-year-old building designed by architect John Galen Howard, who created several of Berkeley’s most iconic structures. Both spoke enthusiastically about the value of libraries to students in their formative years.
“The Library is very important to me,” said Bringham, who fondly recalled splitting most of her time on campus between Dwinelle Hall and Doe Library.
For Olson, who worked at the Cal Alumni Association for 22 years, the environment being cultivated in the Social Research Library is ideal. “You need to feel comfortable going up to somebody and saying, ‘I’m lost, where do I find this?’” she said. “And there’s always somebody to tell you how to do it.”
University Librarian Suzanne Wones was effusive in her praise for supporters, especially those who have made gifts through their estates. Roughly a third of the UC Berkeley Library’s annual fundraising comes from planned gifts.
“The gifts are vital to our actually being able to do innovative work and really trying new things,” Wones said. “But they’re really important also because of the message that they send. They tell us here at the Library that you believe in our future and that you have faith that we will be just as important and vital to campus in the future as we are today.”
To learn more about giving via your will or trust, please contact the Library Development Office at 510-642-9377 or give-library@berkeley.edu.