SJSU SAASC welcomed spring with our April event, which highlighted the Special Collections at the Sierra Club’s William E. Colby Library. Archivist Joanna Black shared her wealth of knowledge regarding the historic club that was founded in the Bay Area in 1892. In 1901, a member named William E. Colby initiated yearly club camp outings. This successfully brought in a high number of new members, igniting a fire for recreation and collaboration. In the early ’50s, David Brower became the first executive chief of the Sierra Club. His coffee table photography book series, advertisements, and collectible coupons brought about attention from people unfamiliar with the club. The nature appreciation brought by Colby and the activist energy brought by Brower both remain to this day.

In 1958, a collaboration was made between the Sierra Club and UC Berkeley. The Sierra Club Archives is at Berkeley’s Bancroft Library, and houses archival materials and records that are too large for the Colby Library to store. The Colby Library’s collections include magazine publications, photographs, slideshows, oral histories, artwork, scrapbooks, and videos. Since its origin, the Sierra Club actually had a small library for members to research mountaineering, skiing, and hiking. However, the library’s purpose has shifted in the last 30 years. The preservation of existing collections and the usage of reference services to learn about the library’s history have replaced recreational topics.

Archivist Joanna Black was hired in 2018 and has accomplished an extensive amount of work with Colby Library’s non-bibliographic work, specifically their Special Collections. Here is a link to one of their most valuable pieces that became fully digitized: https://www.sierraclub.org/library/1928-high-trip-photo-album. This rare photography book showcases gorgeous pictures of the Canadian Rockies, and was a gift from photographer Ansel Adams to William Colby. Colby donated it to the library to preserve for future generations to enjoy. Digitization is a huge part of Black’s job, and she is working on making many unique photographs available for the public to view online.

Another prominent Colby Library project is “Voices of Environmental Justice”. The goal of this project is to to uplift non-white stories that were previously ignored. It was clear to see that Colby Library’s vast collection of historical artifacts is being presented and shared in a respectful manner, and that the library is serious about combating systematic racism. Black’s meeting conclusion about the Colby Library’s goal to “celebrate the accomplishments of people” is hopeful and reassuring. Her drive to continually improve the Colby Library’s impact on the world was both exciting and inspiring to witness.