Friends of the Library | Sac State Library

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:

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

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

Published the newsletter Bookends

Hosted special events and presentations by well-known authors

Become a Member

Join the Friends of the Library

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
Fred Batt
Andrea Fiske
Eileen Heaser
Arthur Shattuck
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

Receipt of the Friends newsletter, Bookends

Invitations to library exhibits, lectures, and events

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

The satisfaction of supporting education in our community

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

September

Wednesday, 9/4
Thursday, 9/5
Wednesday, 9/18
Thursday, 9/19

October

Wednesday, 10/2
Thursday, 10/3
Wednesday, 10/16
Thursday, 10/17

November

Wednesday, 11/6
Thursday, 11/7
Wednesday, 11/20
Thursday, 11/21

December

Wednesday, 12/4
Thursday, 12/5

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 Fall 2024

Entering its 15th 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.

James D. Richardson

Thursday, October 31, 2024

The Friends of the University Library begin the 15th year of the Charles Martell Author Lecture Series with local author, James D. Richardson. Richardson’s book, The Abolitionist’s Journal: Memories of an American Antislavery Family.

Over the course of more than twenty years, James D. Richardson and his wife, Lori, retraced the steps of his ancestor, George Richardson (1824-1911), across nine states, uncovering letters, diaries, and more memoirs hidden away. Their journey brought them to the brink of the racial divide in America, revealing how his great-great-grandfather Richardson played a role in the Underground Railroad, served as a chaplain to a Black Union regiment in the Civil War, and founded a college in Texas for the formerly enslaved.

View Recording

Maureen Buick

Thursday, November 14, 2024

Our second lecture is with Maureen Buick, author of Finding Bomb Boogie: A Daughter’s Search to Rediscover Her Father. This award-winning book is the story of a quiet, young American, a tail gunner on a B-17 aircraft nicknamed “Bomb Boogie,” flying bombing missions over Nazi-occupied Europe, a bomber boy of twenty-one years, scared of heights, parachuting twice out of a plane to his eventual capture by the Germans, the resilient airman held in a prisoner of war camp for twenty-two months who spent his twenty-fourth birthday year on a forced march in one of the coldest winters in over fifty years, the daredevil who rolled down a hill during the march to escape captivity in another prison camp, and the tired, emaciated young man who finally made it home, to fight more battles.

View Recording