Here at the blog, we’ve been covering an exciting story about the development of an oral history project, Librarians Navigating Change, coordinated by Ann Glusker, Librarian (retired) for Social Sciences and Research Methods, University of California, Berkeley. The project includes 15 interviews with veteran UC Berkeley library workers. For past coverage including an interview with Ann, please see these posts.
In sharing a key update, Ann has expanded this collection, digitizing 172 pages of handouts and other ephemera relating to the UC Berkeley Library as collected by UC Berkeley librarian Corliss Lee when she started in 1991:
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0t79n090
There are lots of rich primary sources dating from the late 1980s-early 1990s, a critical time when libraries were establishing computer-based services. Materials include:
-Vertical file contents
-Pathfinders & tip sheets
-Term paper advisory service
-Procedures
-Recommended lists of books & videos for undergraduates
-Comparisons of Berkeley’s two electronic catalogs
-Computer reference services
-And much more!
Th collection gives us a portal to the past, a direct record of one of the leading libraries in the United States, and interesting primary sources that can shed light on the operations and services of late twentieth century academic libraries.
Be sure to check out Ann’s fascinating analysis of many of these artifacts!:https://update.lib.berkeley.edu/2026/07/22/librarians-navigating-change-at-berkeley-since-1869/