49th Annual RBMS Preconference Tours

Registration for the 2008 RBMS Preconference has reached capacity, and all tours are fully booked. It is possible to register to get your name on a wait list. To be added to the wait list, please call 800-545-2433 and press option #5.

Tours will be offered on Tuesday, June 24 and Friday June 27th, 2008. The two Tuesday tours are free of charge; there is a $30 fee for Friday tours.

Transportation is provided for all tours. Buses will depart from the Luxe Hotel. Please arrive 10 minutes prior to your departure time.

Tuesday and Friday tours require advance sign-up on the registration form. Please sign up early to guarantee a place on your preferred tour.

There will also be several tours of the Getty Research Center, offered on Thursday afternoon. These will include a general orientation to the library, a Special Collections show and tell, and a visit to the vaults and conservation lab. Thursday tours are free of charge. Sign-up for these tours will take place at the Getty Research Institute on Thursday.

William Andrews Clark Memorial Library Tour
Tuesday, June 24, 2008 (2-4:30 pm)
Limited to 25 participants
Free of charge

The William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, an impressive Venetian-style villa, is the oldest of the University of California libraries. Designed by architect Robert Farquhar and built in 1926, the Clark is located off-campus in the historic West Adams district of Los Angeles. The library focuses on British literature, history and culture from 1640-1750 and houses the finest Oscar Wilde collection in the world. Head Librarian, Bruce Whiteman, will give a tour of the building and show highlights from the collections.

UCLA Special Collections Tour
Tuesday, June 24th, 2008 (1:30-4:30 pm)
Two UCLA Special Collections tours will be offered simultaneously on Tuesday, with a limit of 50 people (25 participants in each group).
Free of charge

Please note: This tour involves about 20-30 minutes of walking across the UCLA Campus. About 30-40 minutes will be spent in each venue.

The various collections of the History & Special Collections in the Sciences Division of the Louise Darling Biomedical Library support the study of the history of medicine, natural history, zoology, ornithology, botany, evolution and evolutionary theory as well as the physical sciences. Included in the visit to the Biomedical Library will be a special display featuring selections from the Performing Arts Special Collections, the newly constituted section of the former UCLA Arts and Music Library's Special Collections, which collects in the area of performing arts with a concentration in film, television, theatre, and music.

The Charles E. Young Research Library Department of Special Collections houses rare books and manuscripts in the humanities, social sciences, and visual arts, as well as transcripts of interviews conducted by the UCLA Oral History Program. Highlights of the UCLA Department of Special Collections holdings include: the Ahmanson-Murphy Aldine Collection; the Michael Sadleir Collection of Nineteenth-Century British Fiction; the Children's Book Collection, and the papers of Susan Sontag, Aldous Huxley and Raymond Chandler.

Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens Tour
Friday, June 27th, 2008 (11:00 am-return by 6:00 pm)
Limited to 30 participants
$30 fee

Note: This tour involves walking. Please remember that it could be quite warm in June; walking shoes and a hat are recommended.

This tour includes a visit to the Huntington, one of the world's premier rare book and manuscripts libraries. Attendees will have ample time on their own to visit the Library Exhibition Hall, art galleries, and numerous thematic gardens - including the newly opened Chinese Garden. Exhibits on view will include: This Side of Paradise: Body and Landscape in LA Photographs, a major show on the history of Los Angeles photography. In the late afternoon, participants will gather for a curator-led tour of public and non-public areas of the Library, including its state-of-the-art conservation lab. The day will close with a reception, hosted by the Huntington.

Getty Villa Malibu Tour
Friday, June 27th, 2008 (1:00-return by 6:00 pm)
Limited to 30 participants
$30 fee

The Getty Villa is modeled after a first-century Roman country house, the Villa dei Papiri in Herculaneum, Italy. Located in an intimate setting overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the site includes gardens and open spaces featuring bronze sculptures, fountains, and lush plantings of trees, herbs, and flowers. The Villa houses the J. Paul Getty Museum's exquisite collection of Greek, Roman and Etruscan antiquities. Behind-the-scenes tours of the Getty Villa Research Library will also be offered. Located in the original Getty Ranch House, the library contains 20,000 volumes on the arts and cultures of the ancient world.