On Sunday, September 28, over 180 visitors graced the grounds of the UCLA William Andrews Clark Memorial Library for its annual open house and adopt-a-book fair. Our staff invited scholars, local families, curious community members, and regular supporters of the Clark Library to explore our historic rare book and manuscript library, built in 1926 by architect Robert Farquhar, and its surrounding grounds. The Clark team utilized each space of the library to craft a tranquil, yet educational environment for guests of all ages. 
The event appealed to guests with a variety of interests. Visitors strolled along our outdoor walkways and lawns with their complimentary popsicles. Some tapped into their creative side by coloring prints based on artworks in the Clark collection, such as The Happy Prince illustrated by Walter Crane and Jacomb Hood for a published collection of Oscar Wilde’s works. Many perused our seed catalog, checking out seeds to plant in their neighborhoods, while others participated in a scavenger hunt.
Attendees were particularly captivated by the “Adopt-a-Book” portion of our festivities. Our staff members presented new library acquisitions and collection highlights. They introduced children to color theory through book artist Russell Maret’s rendition of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Colored Objects, and enjoyed conversations with patrons about temporally, geographically, and materially diverse items. Objects ranged from eighteenth-century slip songs, to a nineteenth-century printing toy, to a printed fan from 1791, to the Clark Library’s first ever jigsaw puzzle.
We accepted optional donations from guests throughout the event to support the acquisition and preservation of materials. Visitors had the option of adopting a book to cover its acquisition and maintenance costs, and could donate as little as five dollars to support the Clark Library’s archival resources.
–Mal Meisels, Instruction and Engagement Fellow