Santa Anita Racetrack (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)
The California Thoroughbred Foundation is donating the contents of the Carleton F. Burke Library in Arcadia—one of the most extensive collections of equine literature found anywhere—to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
“This is such a rare and specialized collection that it is a great match with an academic library,” said Foundation President Ada Gates Patton. “Officials from Cal Poly Pomona approached us about acquiring the library, with proposed expert management of books and increased public access.
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The Burke Library has been housed in the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association building in Arcadia, across the street from Santa Anita Park. One positive factor influencing the decision was that the collection will remain nearby, as Pomona is just 20 miles from Arcadia.
The university intends to digitize research books for worldwide access, exposing the Burke Library to a far wider audience than the Foundation could offer.
“We have been privileged to own this unique collection and open it to the public, and we look forward to its professional preservation and even wider availability at Cal Poly Pomona,” said Gates Patton.
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
