University Club Donates Historic Books to Pasadena Museum of History

-Photo by Fernando Lara

The University Club of Pasadena (founded 1922) recently donated a selection of thirty-six historic books from its “member’s library” to the Research Library and Archives of Pasadena Museum of History.

James Harwood, president of the University Club, said, “We are pleased to donate these books to the museum, where they can be preserved, catalogued and made available to scholars and the public. Our club library is composed of books donated over the years by our members for display in a distinctive meeting space, but we have no professional librarian and no system for making known our holdings to those who could make scholarly use of them. The community is better served by turning these works over the institution which preserves Pasadena’s history.”

The PMH Research Library is a specialized collection, containing several thousand books dedicated to the history of Pasadena and California. “This donation enhances our collection of local history and local author books,” stated Laura Verlaque, Director of Collections. “In addition to a number of unusual local publications, I was pleased to receive several first editions of books by Earl Derr Biggers, Pasadena resident and author of the Charlie Chan mysteries.” Please see below for a complete listing of titles.

The books will be catalogued and made available to the public in the Research Library, which is open free of charge Thursdays through Sundays, from 1:00 to 4:00 pm. It is located in the basement level of the History Center at Pasadena Museum of History, 470 W. Walnut St., Pasadena, CA 91103. For additional information, please visit www.pasadenahistory.org or call 626.577.1660, ext. 10.

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