Grants and Acquisitions

David Free

On February 13, 2026, the California State University, Long Beach University Library hosted a press conference announcing a federal $2.175 million community project funding sponsored by Congressman Robert Garcia. Garcia visited the library to formally present the funding, which will support the modernization, digitization, and expansion of the library’s Special Collections area.

He noted that the federal funds would serve as the foundation of a new Long Beach Research Center within the library, “offering hands-on training in archival methods, digitization techniques, and historical research to the public” while ensuring that students can access and study research materials “in a dynamic learning environment.” In addition to expanding the archives’ online presence, the plan includes making mainly cosmetic changes to the current space by adding glass walls to open sightlines and converting the adjoining storage room into exhibit and classroom space. More details are available at https://www.csulb.edu/news/article/new-funding-propels-csulbs-storied-archives-toward-wider-access.

Acquisitions

The Florida State University (FSU) Libraries Special Collections and Archives has opened an extensive collection of photographs donated by local photojournalist Mark Wallheiser. Spanning decades of Florida history, it includes millions of photographic prints, negatives, film slides, and digital images. Among its highlights are images of campus life at FSU, Florida A&M University, and Tallahassee State College (formerly Tallahassee Community College), as well as photographs of professional and collegiate sports, natural disasters, and significant events in the capital city.

Over the past year, the FSU Libraries Special Collections and Archives team has developed detailed online descriptions of the collection and digitized a selection of negatives. Wallheiser and the libraries envision the collection becoming a valuable resource for researchers, scholars, students, and educators. Learn more about the collection at https://fsuspecialcollections.wordpress.com/2025/02/12/the-mark-wallheiser-photograph-collection/.

The University of California (UC), Davis, has received three significant collections of coffee-related materials that together illuminate the history, science, and global impact of specialty coffee. The donations to the UC Davis Library are from Gerald “Jerry” Baldwin, co-founder of Starbucks and former president of Peet’s Coffee; Russ Kramer, president of Hacienda La Minita and veteran of Green Mountain Coffee; and the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA).

The materials—including rare books, photographs, business records, and other archival materials—provide a comprehensive record of coffee’s evolution from agricultural commodity to global consumer product. The UC Davis Coffee Center is the first academic research and teaching facility in the United States dedicated entirely to the study of coffee. Learn more at https://library.ucdavis.edu/news/coffee-legends-create-a-world-class-collection-at-the-uc-davis-library/.

The Library of Congress has acquired the complete collection of music manuscripts of jazz bandleader, arranger, pianist, and composer Gil Evans (1912–88). Evans is widely remembered as one of the greatest orchestrators in the history of jazz and is celebrated for his collaborations with legendary jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis (1926–91). This archive contains a vast collection of Evans’ compositions and arrangements, much of it in his own handwriting. The collection includes approximately 350 scores, 35 lead sheets, 5 music sketches, and 50 instrumental parts for works Evans created for recording projects between 1947 and 1987. Lead sheets are a condensed, single-staff musical notation that provides only the essential elements of a song. Learn more at https://bit.ly/4de64B6.