Robert E. Kennedy Library - San Luis Obispo

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In 1903, the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo opened the university library. Today, it is housed in a five-storey building on campus which was named in honor of president emeritus Robert E. Kennedy in 1980. With about 600,000 books, 45,000 online journals, 750 print journals, 20,000 eBooks and more, the library also plays a critical role in the surrounding community as the largest library between Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara. Like the building, the mission and programs of Robert E. Kennedy Library are continually reshaped around the changing needs of students and faculty.,^[1]

History

Cal Poly’s first library was started in 1903 in one room of the original administration building on campus (now demolished). In 1942, the library made its first move to the newly completed clock tower administration building.

The first building to be completed following World War II was the $700,000 Walter F. Dexter Library. Dedicated in October 1948, the building memorialized the Sacramento administrator who had helped secure collegiate status for Cal Poly eight years before. In 1980, the library moved to its current building, named in honor of president emeritus Robert E. Kennedy (1966-1979). Construction of the building began in 1977 and was completed in August 1980 at a cost of $11 million.

From its origins in one room of the first administration building to the present facility housing a collection of nearly five million items, the library contains rich collections of books, journals, electronic resources, multimedia, K-12 learning resources, and government documents.

Collections

Special Collections, a department of the Robert E. Kennedy Library at Cal Poly, was established in 1969 to build primary source research collections that reflect and support the polytechnic curriculum of the university.

Major subject areas in the collections include architects, architecture and the built environment of California; book arts; environmental history; ethnic studies; fine printing; graphic arts; Julia Morgan; John Steinbeck first editions; landscape architecture in California; Robinson Jeffers first editions; San Luis Obispo regional history; social history; and William Randolph Hearst and San Simeon.

Researchers from every state and seven countries have traveled to the Kennedy Library to use the archival collections of manuscripts, rare books, architectural drawings, and photographs. Special Collections materials have been featured on the BBC, CNN, PBS, A&E, and in international print media.^[2]

The library collects archival and printed materials on the history, growth, and development of Cal Poly in the University Archives.

Services

The building includes seven computer labs, 19 group study rooms and 24-7 study rooms throughout the five storeys of the library. There are eight collaboration rooms available. Each is equipped with white board and a flat screen monitor (VGA connection with supported resolutions: 1920x1080, 1280x720), and each room seats up to eight people. In addition to these eight rooms, the library has another nine group study rooms available on a first come, first served basis, on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors. Students can use more than 300 computers, and check out high-tech equipment like iPads, laptops, Kindles, cameras, camcorders and tripods.

Kennedy Library has been voted "Best On-Campus Study Spot" every year by readers of the campus newspaper, Mustang Daily, since 2006. "It is a place to concentrate. If I physically go here, it helps me think it is my study time." Dan McGrail, Cal Poly student, as quoted in Mustang Daily, February 17, 2012.^[3]

Public Programs

Kennedy Library offers ongoing and special events for the campus and community.

Cal Poly Science Cafe was started in 2008 to bring an expert together with the public for casual conversation and interactive experimentation. The series was featured on Boing Boing and NOVA Science Cafe in 2012.

Conversations with Cal Poly Authors celebrates publications of creative and scholarly books by Cal Poly faculty and staff. It's also a podcast series.

The Kennedy Library was one of eight national recipients of the 2012 Freedom to Read Foundation's Judith F. Krug Fund Grant which supported the 30th anniversary of Banned Books Week. The [library celebrated http://lib.calpoly.edu/books/banned/] with web and print infographics designed by Cal Poly students, a podcast series, and an appearance by Stephen Chbosky, author of The Perks of Being a Wallflower.

The Data Studio opened in 2012 and hosts a series of talks and events related to data resources and tools.