How many people are looking at these collections?

The UCSC Library Digital Collections had 11,447 page views in July 2015:

UCSC Library Map Collections	2523
UCSC Library Regional Oral History Collection	1482
UCSC Campus History - Photographs and Maps	1088
Branson DeCou Digital Archive	1073
Lick Observatory Digital Archive	980
Organic Farming-Sustainable Agriculture Oral Histories	764
Dibblee Digital Geologic Map Collection	674
UCSC Library Aerial Photographs	658
Hihn-Younger Archive	653
UCSC Campus History - Publications	561
Harry Mayo Surfing Photography Collection	395
Santa Cruz County History Digital Collections	328
Ansel Adams Photographs	146
Performing Arts Collections	122

In the Map Collections, the most popular item by far (viewed 142 times!) was the 1906 map of Santa Cruz County, drawn by the Punnett Brothers firm of San Francisco. The map shows not only roads and railways, but also land ownership with acreages, townships, school and supervisors districts, and the old Spanish and Mexican ranchos.

In the Regional Oral History Collection, visitors looked most at the oral history transcripts of  Professor Priscilla "Tilly" Shaw (literature faculty from 1966 to 1993),  Karen Sinsheimer (wife of former chancellor Robert Sinsheimer) -- both of whom recently passed away--, and the early histories of Oakes College and the Farm and Garden Project.

In the Branson DeCou collection, the most popular item was a scenic view of a desert landscape: Colorado Desert, California: landscape with sand verbena (Abronia villosa) and other shrubs. Perhaps visitors are looking for drought-resistant landscaping ideas!

 

University of California, Santa Cruz. McHenry Library, Special Collections, DC1.815.0038L

Cuba in 1932

The United States reopened its embassy in Havana today, 54 years after it closed. Here is the New York Times' report, with a very moving video clip by Wayne S. Smith, one of the last living diplomats to see the embassy close in 1961:

U.S. Embassy in Cuba Reopens After More Than 50 Years

By Azam Ahmed

In 1932 Branson and Elsie Decou visited Cuba. It was a turbulent time: the dictator Gerardo Machado was struggling to maintain power in the midst of an economic downturn. (He would be ousted in a US-supported coup the following year.) The DeCous photographed historic sites in Cuba, such as the 16th-century Morro Castle, and also newer sites, such as the new national highway and the Hershey Company sugar refinery.

Branson DeCou images of Cuba, 1932.

Havana street scene, with "Café La Puertorriquena", other cafés and shops

University of California, Santa Cruz. McHenry Library, Special Collections, DC1.815.0038L

Professor Charles Xavier at UC Santa Cruz

In February 1976 five members of England's Royal Shakespeare Company visited UC Santa Cruz for three days. They offered workshops to students in English literature and theater arts, and performed programs for the Santa Cruz community. The actors were Bernard Lloyd, Charles Keating, Lisa Harrow, Tony Church and Patrick Stewart. Although he continues his brilliant stage career, Stewart is also famous now for his roles as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994), and Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men film series (2000- ).

University of California, Santa Cruz. McHenry Library, Special Collections, UA 50 neg_sc5966a_09

The photographs in our collection were taken on behalf of the Public Information Office on February 20, 1976, and show the actors with students.

Royal Shakespeare Company actors visit UCSC

UC Santa Cruz Campus History in the Oral History Collection

The Regional History Project at UC Santa Cruz has been documenting campus history since 1963. Typed or printed transcripts of the audio recordings are available in the Library stacks and Special Collections. On-line versions are in PDF format in the Library's Digital Collections, as well as in eScholarship.

1960s - The Early Years at UC Santa Cruz:

• Dean E. McHenry ; Vol. II: 1958-68, Vol. III: 1958-69 (founding chancellor)
• Clark Kerr and the founding of the University of California, Santa Cruz (president of the University of California system)
• Page Smith : founding Cowell College and UCSC, 1964-73 (professor, founding provost of Cowell College)
• F.M. Glenn Willson : early UCSC history and the founding of Stevenson College, 1963-87 (founding faculty, later provost of Stevenson College)
• Kenneth V. Thimann : early UCSC history and the founding of Crown College, 1964-89 (professor, founding provost of Crown College)
• Oakes College: An Oral History with: J. Herman Blake, Roberto Crespi, James Gill, Don Rothman, Ray Charland, Gwen Lacy, and Kathy Cowan, 1966-82

UCSC dedication events, January 17, 1963: Clark Kerr, with Donald Clark and regents in a car at the site of the library -University of California, Santa Cruz. McHenry Library, Special Collections, ms0090_pho_63_61a_cs2_21

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• Look'n M' Face and Hear M' Story: An Oral History with Professor J. Herman Blake, 1966-84 (professor, founding provost of Oakes College)
• John Dizikes: Reflections on a Life of Learning and Teaching at UC Santa Cruz, 1965-2000 (founding faculty)
• G. William Domhoff: The Adventures and Regrets of a Professor of Dreams and Power, 1965-94 (founding faculty)
• Andrew Todd Newberry, professor of biology, 1965-1994 : reflections on Santa Cruz (founding faculty)
• Donald T. Clark : early UCSC history and the founding of the University Library, 1962-73 (founding university librarian)
• Rita Bottoms, polyartist librarian : UC Santa Cruz 1965-2003 (reference librarian, later head of special collections)

Herman Blake's Junior Leadership Program, Summer 1967: participants on a forest walk, with a lizard -University of California, Santa Cruz. McHenry Library, Special Collections, ua0050_neg_06320b_16

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• A Dual Teaching Career: An Oral History with UC Santa Cruz Professor Frank Andrews, 1967-2006
• Murray's Universe: An Oral History with UCSC Professor Murray Baumgarten, 1966-2014
• Burney LeBoeuf, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Recollections of UCSC, 1966-1994
• Michael Nauenberg, professor of physics : recollections of UCSC, 1966-1996
• Peter Scott, professor of physics : recollections of UCSC, 1966-1994 
• Professor Priscilla "Tilly" Shaw: Poet, Teacher, Administrator, 1966-93 

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Moving a redwood tree from UCSC to Cabrillo College: Vice Chancellor Harold Hyde (left) and Chancellor McHenry (right), with tree mover Joe Arnaz of Mountain View -University of California, Santa Cruz. McHenry Library, Special Collections, ua0050_neg_04185a_16

• Harold A. Hyde : recollections of Santa Cruz County, 1964-75 (founding vice chancellor of business and finance)
• Louis F. Fackler : founding campus engineer, UC Santa Cruz 1963-90
• Creating a World-Class Graduate Program on a Unique Campus: An Oral History with John Wilkes, Founder of UCSC's Science Communication Program, 1965-2006
• The early history of UC Santa Cruz's Farm and Garden : interviews with Paul Lee, Phyllis Norris, Orin Martin, Dennis Tamura, 1966-85
• Growth and stewardship : Frank Zwart's four decades at UC Santa Cruz, 1967-2005 (Pioneer Class member, campus architect)

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• UC Santa Cruz Student interviews, 1967
• UC Santa Cruz Student interviews, 1969 

Cowell College Culture Break, February 1968: human chess game -University of California, Santa Cruz. McHenry Library, Special Collections, ua0050_neg_04245a_17

UCSC Opens in 1965: Santa Cruz Sentinel Special Editions

The University of California campus at Santa Cruz opened in the fall of 1965 with only about 650 students, 69 faculty, and 150 staff members, but its coming changed the economy and culture of the city and county of Santa Cruz profoundly. The articles in this special edition of the Santa Cruz Sentinel show the excitement of the founding, the ambitions of the chancellor and the founding faculty, and the eagerness of the select student "Pioneer Class".

Viewing Note: The "Page Flip View" lets you page through the newspaper, but to zoom in and read the text, you will need to use the default image viewer or the "View Page & Text" option.

Santa Cruz Sentinel: University of California, Santa Cruz, Opening Edition [A: UC and UCSC Administrator Profiles; Planning and Construction]

p. 2

p. 33

Santa Cruz Sentinel: University of California, Santa Cruz, Opening Edition [B: Founding Faculty Profiles]

p. 3

p. 26

Santa Cruz Sentinel: University of California, Santa Cruz, Opening Edition [C: Students]

p. 2

p. 15