USC Libraries

The From the Archives series on KCET's Artbound website continues with a look at more architectural drawings from the archival collections of USC's Helen Topping Architecture and Fine Arts Library. In her latest contribution, librarian Ruth Wallach places selected drawings on a continuum from initial sketches to finished pieces prepared for clients' eyes, analyzing what the drawings say about their creators' work, their clients' preferences, and the architectural style—California Modern—they depict. The series' first installment, which Wallach also wrote, highlighted drawings of ranch houses.

KCET's Artbound website debuted its From the Archives series today with a look inside the archival collections of USC's Helen Topping Architecture and Fine Arts Library. In the new series' first installment, librarian Ruth Wallach—head of the Architecture and Fine Arts Library—examines the ranch house architectural style and its place in Southern California history through watercolor drawings from the USC Libraries' archival collections.

The USC Chronicle recently featured the USC Libraries' collection of drawings by Cliff May, a Southern Californian architect who popularized the ranch house in the region. The drawings are part of the archival holdings of the USC Helen Topping Architecture and Fine Arts Library. Keep reading for Dan Knapp's article about May and his drawings.

On May 1-2, the USC Libraries hosted the Outsanding Academic Papers by Students (OAPS) 9th-annual task force meeting. Click through for photos from the two-day meeting—the third international conference hosted by the USC Libraries this academic year.

The Sunday, December 4 issue of the Los Angeles Times Magazine featured several photographs of Temple Emanuel from the USC Libraries' Sidney Eisenshtat Papers. The magazine feature, titled "Back to Shul," used the libraries' vintage photographs to compare architect Sidney Eisenshtat's original design with recent renovations made to the Beverly Hills temple. Keep reading to learn more about the Eisenshtat Papers collection, housed at USC's Helen Topping Architecture and Fine Arts Library.

This week's edition of the USC Chronicle highlights the USC Libraries' Sidney Eisenshtat Papers collection, preserved in the Helen Topping Architecture & Fine Arts Library. As Dan Knapp writes in his article, the collection consists of letters, engineering specifications, drawings, renderings, and photographs from the career of Sidney Eisenshtat, the architect of Westwood's Sinai Temple. Keep reading to learn more about the architect, his work, and the libraries' Eisenshtat Papers collection.

From now through the end of April, the USC Libraries are offering foursquare specials that encourage USC students to engage with the libraries through the location-based social network. The specials coincide with the Senior Discovery initiative, a university-wide campaign to promote the use of foursquare at USC. Keep reading to learn more about how you can earn special giveaways from the USC Libraries.

This thirteenth installment in a series exploring the many USC Libraries looks inside the Helen Topping Architecture & Fine Arts Library, which supports the research needs of USC scholars and practitioners in architecture and the fine arts.

Several USC Libraries locations are receiving upgrades to their wireless Internet infrastructure this week. While USC's Information Technology Services personnel perform the necessary work, library patrons and staff may experience intermittent or weak wireless signals. We apologize for the inconvenience. Keep reading for a schedule of the upgrades and a list of the affected locations.

USC librarian Lynda Bunting recently helped artist David Horvitz realize a project that has found its way into several library collections.  "DRUGSTORE BEETLE (Sitodrepa Paniceum)" is a collection of works by 27 artists, bound in an archival enclosure known as a four-flap. With advice from Bunting, Horvitz secured an ISBN for the piece, uploaded metadata to the global library catalog WorldCat, and submitted the finished collection to 30 libraries around the world, including USC's Helen Topping Architecture & Fine Arts Library. Keep reading for more on "DRUGSTORE BEETLE", including photos of the project.