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The Blaksley Library
The Blaksley Library was established in 1927. It began outdoors under the oaks as a quiet resting spot to read about plants, animals, and geology. Since then it has grown to over 15,000 volumes. The Blaksley Library building, designed by local architect Lutah Maria Riggs and completed in 1942, provides beautiful mountain views in a courtyard setting.
The Library is currently open by appointment only. The library collections are non-circulating but may be used onsite. Please contact the Library Director, Joan Ariel, by email or telephone (805/682-4726, ext. 107). Permission to use manuscript and art collections and architectural drawings must be obtained in advance by contacting the librarian, Joan Ariel, in writing (email, fax, or letter), stating the purpose of your research. Library use is free to all and does not require an admission fee to the Garden.
The Garden maintains a significant number of horticultural and botanical information resources. Please follow the link to see these Additional Resources.
General Collections
The Blaksley Library has a rich collection of plant information unequalled on California's central coast. The library houses over 15,000 books, digital media, and journals on all aspects of plant science with an emphasis on the flora of California and its offshore islands. Collection strengths also include floras of other Mediterranean regions of the world, botanical exploration of North America, plant conservation, ornamental uses of native plants and low-water use landscaping, landscape architecture and garden design, and Santa Barbara garden history. The library receives over 200 periodical titles through subscription and exchange. For information on specific titles, please consult the Serials List in the library.
The library of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden has joined with the Santa Barbara Historical Society and the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History to form the Central Coast Museum Consortium, a cooperative cataloging venture. All book and periodical titles from the three libraries are listed in our online catalog (centralcoastmuseums.org) searchable 24 hours a day. Please note: you cannot order a book or place a hold on it electronically.
Interlibrary Loan
The Blaksley Library is a member of the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries (CBHL) and has lending agreements with many libraries around the country. We can request books and photocopies of journal articles, usually for free. Photocopies of journal articles at UCSB are also available with a limit of 30 pages a day. To request materials, contact the librarian.
Additional Collections
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Vertical subject files of uncataloged articles, newspaper clippings, and pamphlets. |
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Reprint files, including the Katherine Esau collection on plant anatomy. |
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700 maps, including USGS topographic maps and Dibblee geologic maps for California. |
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In-house indexes:- Santa Barbara Botanic Garden scrapbooks, 1930s-present—Indexed articles from local and regional newspapers. Subjects include the Garden, native plants, Santa Barbara trees, local people and gardens, and other people associated with plant science.
- Santa Barbara Botanic Garden publications—Indexes of the Garden's newsletters and annual reports, from 1926-present.
- Index to Oral Histories Published by the Garden
- Biographical Indexes and Files—Botanists; people associated with the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden; people involved in Santa Barbara garden history.
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Special Collections
Rare Books and Journals
The rare book collection contains over 1,000 books and journals dating back to the 17th century and covers many of the same subject areas as the general collection. Collection strengths include early California botanical journals, 19th century geologic surveys and railroad expeditions, botanical illustration, and garden design.
Photo Collections
The photo collection contains over 20,000 photographic images of plants, gardens, habitats, and people focusing on the plant life and garden history of the Santa Barbara region. Most of the collections may be consulted for research purposes only; however, select images may be reproduced on a case-by-case basis. Please ask the librarian for a fee schedule.
Notable photo collections include:
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Charles Francis Saunders (1859-1941) Approximately 1,000 negatives and 130 prints. Documents early 20th c. Southern California desert landscapes, and ornamental trees and shrubs in the Pasadena area to 1940. |
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Josef Muench (1904-1998) Prints of Santa Barbara street trees and local gardens (including SBBG) from the 1940s by this well-known landscape photographer. |
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Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Photographic history of the Garden since its inception in 1926; additional photos of Mission Canyon since the 1890s. |
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Garden Club of Santa Barbara Collection of slides of Santa Barbara and Montecito estates. (For research only. No reproductions allowed.) |
Manuscript Collections
The library collects and organizes papers from people and relevant organizations associated with the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden or who are active in California botany and horticulture. Archival finding aids for most of the collections provide folder-level access. Click here to see the available finding aids.
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Bard Papers-Horticultural materials about "Berlywood," in Ventura County, home of California senator Thomas Bard (1841-1915) and his wife Mary. Site of many rare plants and commercial nursery. Records from 1894 until c. 1941. |
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Charles Francis Saunders Collection-Research materials, drafts, and correspondence for the 18 books and numerous articles Saunders published on California botany, ethnobotany, history, and gardening. Historical material on Southern California from c. 1904 to 1942. Rare books and autograph collection of famous botanists also included. Finding aid available. |
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Franceschi Papers-Nursery catalogs, inventory books, plant lists, and articles by Franceschi document his contribution to Santa Barbara horticulture. |
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Ralph Stevens Papers-Correspondence, reports, articles, and plant lists of the Santa Barbara landscape architect and park superintendent. Materials pertain to Stevens' teaching at UC Berkeley and the creation of the botanical garden there, as well as his commission to design the grounds of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Honolulu. |
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Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Papers-Includes papers of Garden directors Clements, Bissell, Van Rensselaer, Muller, and Philbrick, and horticulturist Dara Emery. |
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Clifton Smith Papers-Research notes, correspondence, publications, field notebooks, photographs, maps, printed matter, and memorabilia of this well-known botanist and collector are included and cover the period 1861-1998. Regional history files document the history of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties. Extensive research materials pertain to the different editions of Smith's A Flora of the Santa Barbara Region, California. |
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Henry Pollard Collection-Field notes, correspondence, and articles of local plant collector and teacher's botanical collections of the Ventura area. |
Art Collections
The library houses a small collection of botanical and regional artwork. Complete sets of botanical prints by printmakers Henry Evans and Henry Mockel are included, as are individual works by Henry Chapman Ford, Elisabeth Hallowell Saunders, and Olivia Converse.
Architectural Drawings
Architectural drawings depict the development of the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden since the 1930s and include planting and building plans by Lutah Maria Riggs, Lockwood de Forest, Jr., and Beatrix Farrand. A collection of planting plans of local parks by Will Beittel and Grant Castleberg is also included.
Nursery and Seed Catalogs
The library houses a historical collection of more than 1,500 nursery catalogs from 1878 to the 1970s. Both growers of native and non-native plants are represented with a focus on tri-county growers such as the Southern California Acclimatizing Association, Montarioso Nursery, Kinton Stevens, and Theodosia Shephard, as well as growers from throughout California, such as Theodore Payne, Carl Purdy, Lester Rowntree, and Paul Howard.
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