Friends of The Bancroft Library
Who we are, what we do
There are about 1,500 of us now who are dedicated to supporting and developing this world-famous University of California, Berkeley, campus collection, which is open without charge to everyone engaged in relevant research.
Only with the Friends contributions has The Bancroft Library been able to augment its limited funds to acquire, preserve, and display rare books, manuscripts, maps, pictures, and other materials. When an important work or collection becomes available, often only the Friends are able to secure its acquisition through a "seed payment" or with a contribution matched by a foundation grant.
The university provides some basic funds to maintain Bancroft, but it cannot furnish all the support Bancroft needs for staffing, acquisitions, and such essential services as conservation, binding rare books, and restoring paintings. The Friends programs of lectures, receptions, exhibitions, and publications are paid for entirely from private contributions.
We ask you to help this important institution by becoming a member of the Friends of The Bancroft Library, and we invite you to participate in its stimulating programs.
Benefits of being a Friend of The Bancroft Library
As a Friend you will become identified with the work of this great library and keep in touch with its activities through the lively newsletter Bancroftiana.
In addition, for every year that you donate $250 or more, you will receive a Keepsake — a handsomely printed volume or portfolio that is often the first publication of a unique artifact, manuscript, or rare document owned by The Bancroft Library.
To become a member
To become a member, please make a gift to the Friends of The Bancroft Library (check payable to Friends of The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-6000) or donate online.
More information
Council of Friends
Chair: Mary E. MacDonald
Vice Chair: Chase Reynolds Ewald
Secretary: Kate Donovan
Treasurer: David Lei
Eddy Starr Ancinas
Susan D. Anderson
B. Bradley Barber
José Adrián Barragán-Álvarez
Eleanor Bigelow
John Briscoe
Carlos Bustamante
Candace Caldwell
Christine Campbell
Carol Clarke
Narsai David
Frances Dinkelspiel
Jenny Emerson
Mike Fitzgerald
Peter Frazier
Katherine Greenberg
Fred Gregory
Tim Hachman
Sophie Hahn
Peter Hanff
Sheila M. Humphreys
Judy Huret
Krishen Laetsch
Richard Laiderman
Jodie Mathies
Courtney Peagler
Paul Robertson
Paul J. Roesler
Barry L. Ruderman
Don Sarver
Julia Flynn Siler
Charles G. Stephenson
James Sutton
Brian Van Camp
Dora L. Wang
Theo Zaninovich
Advisory Board
Florence Fang
Robert D. Haas
Robert L. Hass
Thelton E. Henderson
Maxine Hong Kingston
Annual meeting
Each spring, the Friends host an annual meeting. It is open to all members of the Friends and their guests.
The luncheon gathering, often held in The Bancroft Library Reading Room, includes a business meeting with reports from the Director of The Bancroft Library, the Chair of the Council of the Friends, the Friends Treasurer, and the Chair of the Friends Nominating Committee.
The Hubert Howe Bancroft Award as well as various graduate and undergraduate fellowships and awards are presented.
2021
Peter Hanff
Deputy Director of The Bancroft Library and an authority on the works of L. Frank Baum
2020
No award given
2019
William Francis Deverell
American Historian and Professor
2018
Gary Kurutz
Author and Executive Director of the California State Library Foundation
2017
Leanne Hinton
Emeritus Professor of Linguistics at Berkeley
2016
William Taylor
Emeritus Professor of Latin American History at Berkeley
2015
Maxine Hong Kingston
Senior Lecturer for Creative Writing at the University of California, Berkeley, awarded the 2014 National Medal of Arts by President Obama
2014
Rose Marie Beebe and Robert M. Senkewicz
Professors at Santa Clara University
2013
Wayne Thiebaud
Painter and Professor of Art, UC Davis
2012
Leon F. Litwack
Professor of American History Emeritus, UC Berkeley
2011
Charles B. Faulhaber
Director Emeritus, The Bancroft Library
2010
W. Michael Mathes
Historian of Spain, Mexico, and Baja California
2009
The Lane Family
Sunset Magazine
2008
Malcolm Margolin
Founder and Publisher of Heyday Books
2007
Isabel Allende
Writer
2006
Joan Didion
Writer
2005
Kevin Starr
Historian and California State Librarian
2004
William Barlow
Book Collector, Bibliographer, Bibliophile
2003
Bernard M. Rosenthal
Book Seller and Scholar
2002
John L. Heilbron
Historian of Science and Vice Chancellor Emeritus, UC Berkeley
2001
Willa Baum
Oral Historian
2000
J.S. Holliday
Historian and Author
1998
Jean Stone
Editor and Philanthropist
1997
Michael Harrison
Collector of Western Americana
Recent past speakers
2012
Kim Bancroft
Friends Council Member
"A Speech by Matilda Griffing Bancroft"
2008
Charlie Chin
Artist-in-Residence, Chinese Historical Society of America
"The Guest of the Flower Flag: The Chinese American Experience in the 20th Century"
2007
William Taylor
Professor, UC Berkeley
"Trouble with Miracles in The Bancroft Library: A Mexican Episode"
2006
Kevin Starr
State Librarian Emeritus and University Professor, University of Southern California
"The Bancroft Library: One Hundred Years of Helping California and the West Understand Itself"
2005
Lynne Withey
Director, University of California Press and author
"Abigail Williams and the American Revolution"
2004
Maxine Hong Kingston
Author and Poet
"Poetry and Peace"
2003
Martin Cruz Smith
Author of Gorky Park, Stallion Gate, Havana Bay, December 6, and other novels
"A Conversation with Orville Schell, Dean of the School of Journalism"
2002
Thomas Sanchez
Author of Rabbit Boss, Mile Zero, Zoot-suit Murders, and Day of the Bees
"Native Notes from the Land of Earthquake and Fire: Journey of a California Writer"
2001
David Nasaw
Professor of History, City University of New York
"Biography of a Biography: The Chief: William Randolph Hearst"
2000
Moderator: Michael Krasny
Panelists: Maxine Hong Kingston, Richard Rodriguez, and Al Young
"California Literature in the Twenty-first Century"