La Sierra University Library celebrates 50th, plans new name

Library Director Jeff de Vries and his staff organized the Oct. 18 event which included historical overviews by a former director and library assistant who gave insight into the library’s evolution since the two-story building’s opening in 1973 as a dedicated library structure. A former faculty member and library committee chair also spoke on the importance of libraries and the impact of the La Sierra facility.

Going into the new year, the library will also plan its re-naming in honor of Fritz Guy, La Sierra’s founding university president between 1990 -- 1993. The La Sierra University Board of Trustees on Nov. 9 approved the new designation. Guy, an alumnus and noted former theologian, served as La Sierra’s first president after the institution separated from Loma Linda University. Guy died on July 25, 2023 at age 93.

The La Sierra University Library, with two floors above ground and one underneath was completed in 1973. It currently houses about 230,000 books and 235,000 e-books. It’s distinctive design reflecting midcentury modern elements was built around a glass atrium where campus members can relax in a peaceful environment filled with plant life and serenaded by a fountain. Riverside architectural firm Peter Lawson Hansen designed the space while library designer Linda Appelt coordinated exterior brick work with interior furniture and colors.

"I love this library with my whole heart." -- Kathleen Dunn, former La Sierra University library assistant

The library’s anniversary celebration this fall featured reflections on the structure’s life and evolution and its importance to the campus by two former library personnel – Kitty Simmons who served as director from 2003 to 2017 and also previously chaired the library committee, and Kathleen Dunn who served as a library assistant in 1973 and then as public services director before leaving for a library associate director’s post at Cal Poly Pomona. Winona Howe, emeritus professor of English, former long-time library committee chair at La Sierra and a former staff member at other university libraries, provided insights on the value and meaning of libraries throughout her life and her experiences at the La Sierra facility.

Simmons, using slides to depict various aspects of library life and activities over the years including photos of herself as a student at the library, talked about the close camaraderie she experienced among library staff members, the book sale events she organized annually, and ways in which the library’s equipment and décor changed over the years.

Dunn presented the early days of the library’s founding which included excerpts from a memoir by former library director George Summers who spearheaded the La Sierra facility’s design and construction.

Summers was director of the La Sierra and Loma Linda University libraries when the two institutions functioned as one and developed the new library plans through its construction. “George Summers is the true founder of our library on the hill,” said Dunn. “[He] managed to convince the university administrators that the library should be on a hill as a beacon of knowledge for the whole campus.”

“I love this library with my whole heart and I never forgot it,” she said.