Friends of the Library

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

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

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.

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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.”

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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.

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