Friends of the Library

Body

Become a member. Be a volunteer. Enjoy seminars, events, and visiting with friends.

Charles Martell Author Lecture Series Lecture Archives Friends of the Library Membership Drive

Who are the Friends?

The Friends of the Library at Sacramento State was founded in 1992 to help the University Library meet the growing and changing needs of the campus and the community. Since its founding, the Friends of the Library has:

gift icon

Donated over $250,000 to the University Library in grants for the acquisition of books, journals, electronic media, and equipment

Book icon

Established the Book Bin, a permanent used book sales area on the Library’s lower level

news icon

Published the newsletter Bookends

Library icon

Hosted special events and presentations by well-known authors

Become a Member

Board Leadership

  • President Linda J. Goff
  • Vice President Michaeline Veden
  • Secretary Roz Van Auker
  • Treasurer Sally Hitchcock

Bookends Editors

  • Linda Goff
  • Roz Van Auker

Board Members

  • Mary Andrews
  • Andrea Fiske
  • Terry Kastanis
  • Jean Torcom

Ex-Officio

  • Amy Kautzman, Dean and Director, University Library
  • Steven Loya, Director of Planned Giving
  • Maria Ramirez, Event Coordinator and Communications Strategist, University Library

Our Mission

To support the University Library by:

  • Bringing together individuals and organizations interested in the University Library
  • Reaching out to the community and promoting the interests of the University Library
  • Providing a forum for the University and local authors, researchers, and readers to meet and discuss their work and interests
  • Raising funds to enhance the University Library

Benefits of Membership

News icon

Receipt of the Friends newsletter, Bookends

Building icon

Invitations to library exhibits, lectures, and events

OneCard icon

Library borrowing privileges for members at the Sponsor level ($50 and above)

Graduation Cap icon

The satisfaction of supporting education in our community

Car icon

Complimentary parking for Speaker Series

Visit the Book Bin!

Staffed by members of the Friends who volunteer for a few hours per week, the Book Bin sells used copies of books and media in various formats. Proceeds from the Book Bin help fund the Friends annual grants program in support of library collections and services as well as general gifts to the University Library.

Spring 2024

Hours: 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM

January

  • Wednesday, 1/17
  • Thursday, 1/18

February

  • Wednesday, 2/7
  • Thursday, 2/8
  • Wednesday, 2/21
  • Thursday, 2/22

March

  • Wednesday, 3/6
  • Thursday, 3/7
  • Wednesday, 3/20
  • Thursday, 3/21

April

  • Wednesday, 4/3
  • Thursday, 4/4
  • Wednesday, 4/17
  • Thursday, 4/18

May

  • Wednesday, 5/1
  • Thursday, 5/2
  • Wednesday, 5/15
  • Thursday, 5/16

Donate to the Book Bin

Donations are accepted during regular Book Bin hours and by appointment on the last Friday of every month. Please call (916) 278-5954 to schedule an appointment

We Accept

  • Hardcover and paperback books for children, teens and adults
  • Contemporary and classic fiction
  • Popular nonfiction such as cookbooks, biographies, history
  • DVD movies
  • Audio books on CD
  • Music CDs

We Cannot Accept

  • Books in poor condition (stained, yellowed, moldy, torn)
  • Encyclopedias
  • Textbooks
  • Readers Digest condensed books
  • Outdated reference books
  • Books discarded by other libraries
  • Abridged audio books
  • Audio cassettes and VHS tapes

Donations can only be delivered during regular Book Bin hours or by appointment and may not be left outside the door or placed in our book drops. If you have more than two boxes of books, please call ahead to make sure we can accommodate the donation. Due to space constraints, we may need to decline donations.

Once accepted, donations are property of the Library and cannot be returned to the donor.

 

Charles Martell Author Lecture Series 2023/24

Entering its 14th year, the Lecture Series offers the campus and Sacramento communities the opportunity to engage with authors whose work is timely and thought provoking. All lectures are free to the public and everyone is welcome to join us.

For more information or to request reasonable accommodations, please contact Maria Ramirez at lib-events@csus.edu at least five (5) business days in advance of the event.

All lectures held at 1:00 p.m. online via Zoom. Registration is required to attend.

Mary A. Helmich

Mary A. Helmich

Thursday, October 5, 2023

The Friends of the Sacramento State University Library begin the 14th year of the Charles Martell Author Lecture Series with local author, Mary A. Helmich. Helmich’s book, A Legacy in Brick and Iron Sacramento’s Central & Pacific Railroad Shops, co-written with Kevin V. Bunker, is incredibly rich in photos and vivid descriptions and brings the shops to life again. To Sacramentans who have driven by the Southern Pacific and Central Pacific Railyards for decades as they decayed from a vibrant history to a derelict relic and Superfund site, this book reveals our historic industrial heritage and offers a glimpse of possibilities for the future of the site.

Preserving and interpreting California history has been Ms. Helmich’s personal and professional focus for more than 40 years. She has served on several non-profit boards, most recently the California State Railroad Museum Foundation, and continues to consult on history-related projects and programs.

Watch Recording

Reyna Grande

Reyna Grande

Thursday, November 9, 2023

Our second lecture is with Reyna Grande, author of A Ballad of Love and Glory. Set during the time of the Mexican American War, (1846-1848), the book tells the story of a Mexican army nurse and an Irish immigrant soldier whose paths cross fatefully during the war. They must fight not only for the fate of a nation but for their future together. Heartbreaking and lyrical, Grande’s spellbinding saga, inspired by true events and historical figures, brings these two remarkable characters to life and illuminates a largely forgotten moment in history that impacts the US-Mexico border to this day.

The New York Times calls A Ballad of Love and Glory, “…epic and exquisitely wrought,” and author Julia Alvarez says, “A grand and soulful novel by a storyteller who has hit her full stride.”

Watch Recording

Allison Gilbert

Allison Gilbert

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

The final presentation of the Charles Martell Author Lecture Series is with Allison Gilbert co-author of Listen World!. a biography of a trailblazing journalist who used her platform to draw attention to social problems of her day, including women’s rights, racism, immigration, capital punishment, and antisemitism. Listen World! was well-received, with the New York Times stating “one does not tire of spending time with Elsie Robinson!” The Wall Street Journal called it “an important contribution to women’s history”, and the Times Literary Supplement called it “a ripping yarn.”

Allison Gilbert is co-author with Julia Scheeres of the book Listen World!: How the Intrepid Elsie Robinson Became America’s Most-read Woman. Ms. Gilbert is based in New York and began her journalism career working in television news production.

Register

 

Lecture Archives