PROJECTS
The California Golden Poppy Website: From watercolors that derive their beauty from their simplicity to detailed works dedicated solely to the appreciation of the flower, this website seeks to bring these often overlooked works of artistry out of the California Botanic Garden Library and Special Collections and back into the view of the general public. Website created by Shanti Penprase, the 2013 Getty Multicultural Undergraduate Intern. https://sites.google.com/a/rsabg.org/the-golden-poppy/
Picturesque California Website: The year 1888 was a time of great activity in the printing world. Not only were there dozens of new printing techniques and unusual formatting techniques, but printing companies were clamoring to satisfy the public’s fascination with the West. Most of these efforts were relatively small-scale in the form of brochures and single prints. However, in 1888, the J. Dewing Publishing Co. brought together these two emerging trends in a highly ambitious work. This work would be known as Picturesque California. Website created by Shanti Penprase, the 2013 Getty Multicultural Undergraduate Intern. https://sites.google.com/a/rsabg.org/picturesque-california/
California Revealed: California Revealed is a State Library initiative to help California’s public and special libraries digitize, preserve, and provide online access to archival materials - books, newspapers, photographs, audiovisual recordings, and more - that tell the incredible stories of the Golden State. California Revealed has awarded CalBG with numerous cataloging assistance grants which allow staff to process and inventory materials in the collection. The items are then sent for digitization and made freely available for public online access through the California Revealed website. https://californiarevealed.org/collections/california-botanic-garden
LIBRARY HISTORY
Susanna Bixby Bryant established Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden (RSABG) in 1927. In setting aside 200 acres of her family’s Orange County ranch for the garden, Bixby Bryant provided a location for the research, study and appreciation of native California flora. RSABG became an affiliated institution of The Claremont Colleges in 1951 when the Garden moved to its present location in Claremont, 35 miles east of Los Angeles. The Garden, an independent organization, became the home of Claremont Graduate University’s Botany Program. As a research organization and institution of higher education, RSABG is involved with research in systematic and evolutionary botany (science fields that sort out the relationships and evolutionary history of plants).
Encouraging the use of California native plants in home landscapes is a major aspect of the Garden’s objective and to further this goal, we offer horticulture and community education programs to the public. The Garden’s grounds include many areas designed to illustrate the ways in which native plants can be used to achieve home garden and landscape design projects. More than half of RSABG’s 86 acres is devoted to California plant communities—plantings designed to depict native plant habitats. The emphasis to display plants in their native habitats was established by Bixby Bryant in the early years of the Garden.
awards
In 2015, the library was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities, Preservation Assistance Grant for Smaller Institutions. This grant is dedicated to improving environmental conditions and care for the archives and special collections, allowing staff to purchase much needed supplies such as an environmental monitoring system, archival-quality shelving units, and archival supplies to protect materials in the Garden's special collections and archives.
