he says , “ I love looking up records of old meetings and speeches .” He also displays serious enthusiasm about the collection of state newspapers , many of which date back a century or more .
One of the more satisfying aspects of the institution is its services for the blind . Its Braille and Talking Book Library serves the blind and people who Knox-Jensen calls “ print-disabled ” in 48 Northern California counties . She says that the library circulated more than 200,000 audio and Braille books and descriptive videos in 2021 , “ and it also made another 200,000 audio book and magazine downloads available to eligible patrons of the service .”
Original prints of the artwork of John James Audubon are shown by , left to right , Sue Tyson , head of the library ' s California history section ; Alex Vassar , communications manager ; and student assistant Arthur Henry .
Among the items that thrilled this visitor on two outings late last month :
- Samuel Langhorne Clemens ’ signed library card — actually , “ his handwritten ‘ bio file ,’” clarifies Sue Tyson , head of the library ’ s California history section . It ’ s a small , two-sided piece of paper authenticating that he ’ d visited the place as himself , not as his alter ego , Mark Twain , though he was already
“ I love when the halls and rooms are filled with people doing research or just reading for pleasure .”
JESSICA KNOX-JENSEN Chief of the California State Library Services Bureau filing dispatches under that name for the Sacramento Union newspaper .
- A delightful full-color , calf-bound version of Mark Twain ’ s “ The Jumping Frog ,” one of only 20 copies produced . It features a pull-out drawer with artistproof wood engravings and prints , plus the artist-proof copy of the regular edition . The 1865 short story , more familiarly known as “ The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County ,” helped establish Twain ’ s formidable reputation as a reporter and humorist .
- A surveyor ’ s 1844 map of the Sacramento Valley , which shows pieces of California that were under Mexican land grants . “ Mapa del Valle del Sacramento ,” a 17-by-23 ¼-inch hand-colored drawing , is considered “ the first known representation of the Sacramento Valley ,” according to the late map historian Carl I . Wheat . This map was the model for one of the earliest Gold Rush region maps and would be used in the District Court of Northern California to examine land claims .
- “ A Pageant of Tradition ,” a spectacular 1927 mural by Maynard Dixon , which at 69 feet wide and 14 feet high , dominates a wall of the library ’ s largest reading room . Each side of the painting depicts figures and events that influenced California ’ s history , including
Spanish colonizers and priests , the Gold Rush and the Industrial Revolution .
Asked if they miss when the library was in full swing with tours and lectures , both Vassar and Knox-Jensen say it will fully reopen soon .
“ I love when the halls and rooms are filled with people doing research or just reading for pleasure ,” says Knox- Jensen . Vassar says the only visitors he feels “ a little leery about are when we have , like , 200 third graders come at the same time .” He laughs . “ Their attention spans aren ’ t all you ’ d hope for . But it ’ s a wonderful experience for them and as they grow up , they ’ ll always know their state library ’ s nearby and it ’ s free . And it really is theirs .”
Ed Goldman writes a thrice-weekly column , The Goldman State , for his website goldmanstate . com .
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April 2022 | comstocksmag . com 93