As my time as Instruction and Engagement Fellow comes to a close, it is hard not to feel a little melancholic. Being given the opportunity to work at the Clark in this capacity has completely changed my final year in graduate school for the better. When I approached this fellowship in September, I was not…

Our very famous Oscar Wilde portrait traveled to Basel, Switzerland in February to be a part of the exhibition, The First Homosexuals: The Birth of New Identities 1869–1939, at the Kunstmuseum Basel, after a very successful first iteration in Chicago in 2025. The Kunstmuseum exhibition closes August 2, 2026. The painting itself is one of…

On April 13, the Clark hosted Merlin Holland for a conversation on his recent book After Oscar, an account of the many truths, untruths, and stories surrounding the afterlife and legacy of his grandfather, Oscar Wilde. Holland has been a guest and researcher at the Clark many times, and we were pleased to have him…

On April 10, 2026, UCLA’s Clark Library hosted a conference on “The Meaning of the American Revolution.” Scholars from various universities shared their interpretations and understanding of the Revolution and examined how the Revolution continues to shape and divide interpretations of American history. Dr. Johann Neem, from Western Washington University, challenged the understanding of the…

CBS LA’s “Look at This!” segment recently offered viewers a two-minute history—and a bird’s-eye view—of the world-renowned William Andrews Clark Memorial Library. Sean Brenner, Director of Strategic Communications for the UCLA College of Humanities, shared the following on the Humanities website. In a recurring CBS LA news segment, reporter Desmond Shaw presents aerial views and…

We are saddened to share the news that former librarian and Head of Reader Services, Carol Sommer, died unexpectedly on Sunday, February 8th. Carol was at the Clark Library for almost 30 years, working in a variety of roles including cataloging, preservation, archival processing, and reader services before retiring in 2011. Born and raised in San…

Another new initiative this year is the inaugural Ahmanson Lecture on Clark Library Legacies: Landscape and Legacy, a program centered on the Clark grounds and their future. This new lecture series brings conversations around landscape design, environmental humanities, and conservation and stewardship into our regular programming. Presented in recognition of Lee Walcott, whose enduring support…

Johan Nieuhof’s (1618-1672) promising career as a merchant with the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was upended in 1665 when he was accused of mismanaging the Company’s pearl fishery in Tuticorin (Thoothukudi, India). Arrested and tried in Colombo, he was convicted and moved to Batavia (Jakarta, Indonesia) in 1667, where he spent three years appealing…

On March 6, 2026, I attended the second meeting in this year’s workshop series, Empires in Practice, following Empires of Thought in December 2025, as part of the Core Program Strange Synchronicities and Familiar Parallels in Asia, 1600–1800. With a third meeting, Empire of Things, planned for May, the series has already exceeded expectations and…

The mainstay of our programming has consisted of string quartets and piano trios, supplemented on occasion by other ensembles and solo artists.  Only once have we presented a vocal recital—and that was nearly thirty years ago, in the first years of the series.  So, we were very excited to present Schubert’s Winterreise song cycle on March 15,…

Dr. Zirwat Chowdhury held an Ahmanson class at the Clark this winter called At Home in 18th —Century London. This class met weekly, at first providing grounding in the topic – with readings, discussions, and sample collection materials – and in the final weeks doing research to put together a proposal for an exhibit for…

Following in the footsteps of the Clark cooks before me, I was encouraged to take up a manuscript and bake a pie for this year’s Pi Day celebration. Our manuscript and cookery collection at the Clark afforded me many options to choose from, but rather than bake an apple or cherry pie and make it…

We are pleased to announce that Erich Uralma has been promoted to Finance & Personnel Manager for the Center for 17th-and-18th-Century Studies and Clark Library. Erich has worked in the Center since 2014, first as Program Coordinator, and then as Assistant Manager of Programs for the past four years, and many faculty, staff, students, and…

After a long planning and buildout period, the Clark Library’s new Digitization Studio, or DigiLab as we call it, is now fully installed and in use. What began as a proposal to move us away from ad hoc, semi-unpredictable, request-based digitization toward a more programmatic model has, over the last ten months, become a fully…

On February 6, the Clark Memorial Library hosted the conference Early Modern Skies—organized by Bronwen Wilson (UCLA), Lyle Massey (UC Irvine), Vin Nardizzi (UBC), and Tiffany Jo Werth (UC Davis)—that brought together scholars from Canada, Italy, France, and the United States to share and compare their research on how the heavens were studied, utilized, and…

A sizable and enthusiastic audience gathered at the Clark Library on the afternoon of Saturday, February 21, for the biennial Oscar Wilde Lecture. Margaret D. Stetz, the Mae and Robert Carter Professor of Women’s Studies and Professor of Humanities at the University of Delaware, gave an informative and entertaining talk about the importance and influence…

Technical Services is a vital part of every library. Whether large or small, a technical services department describes, organizes, and preserves a library’s collection. This nine-month fellowship seeks to serve as a springboard for graduate students interested in learning the practicalities and intricacies of special collections cataloging and description. Depending on the successful candidate’s strengths…

The Instruction and Engagement Fellowship comes with a great deal of responsibility, ideal for someone who is eager to learn about incorporating primary sources into curriculum and outreach in libraries, contributing to our strategy and mission, and developing professional skills. We are seeking an enthusiastic and dedicated Instruction and Engagement Fellow who will play an…

Last Friday, December 5, on a beautifully crisp and sunny day at the Clark Library, we gathered with nine scholars who presented their work on the Ottoman, Qing and Mughal empires in the early modern period—topics closely tied to the theme of this year’s Core Program, “Strange Synchronicities and Familiar Parallels in Asia, 1600–1800.” The…