Feb 23, 2012 | 02:56
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Dec 08, 2011
Building new connections between campus and a cultural treasure
For fans of UCLA’s William Andrews Clark Memorial Library in the West Adams district, everything old is new again, thanks to Barbara Fuchs.
Six months into the position of director of both the beloved rare book library and the Center for 17th- and 18th-Century Studies, Fuchs has already racked up several innovations and is eyeing several more.
Barbara Fuchs is strenghtening ties between the Clark Library and campus by building new partnerships.
Between instituting programs to bring more students to the library, located some 13 miles east of UCLA, and exploring new connections with potential campus partners, Fuchs is determined to expand the Clark’s reach and offerings.
"I’m interested in having the Clark reflect more fully the areas in which UCLA holds tremendous expertise," she said.
The center supports and develops research across the humanities in the 17thand 18th centuries, and also manages the Clark Library, home to the formidable collections of rare books and manuscripts deeded to UCLA in 1934 by William Andrews Clark, Jr., a prominent Los Angeles philanthropist. The library, which has grown substantially since it became the first major bequest to UCLA, includes major holdings in English literature and history from 1640 to 1800, fine printing and the world’s most comprehensive collection of the works of Oscar Wilde.
Each year the Center for 17th- and 18th-Century Studies offers a core program, with several conferences devoted to a central topic. The core program culminates in a published collection of essays and brings three or four fellows to the Clark as postdoctoral scholars. As the Clark Professor for 2011-12, Fuchs heads the program and directs the visiting scholars.
Each year the Center for 17th- and 18th-Century Studies offers a core program, with several conferences devoted to a central topic. The core program culminates in a published collection of essays and brings three or four fellows to the Clark as postdoctoral scholars. As the Clark Professor for 2011-12, Fuchs heads the program and directs the visiting scholars.Cultural activities at the Clark already include lectures, chamber music and a poetry program, and Fuchs wants to add more.
"I’m eating, breathing and living all things Clark," she said.
The scholar who grew up in Latin America and attended American schools there might as well be describing her approach to her new positions.
Nothing less would be expected of the professor who joined the UCLA faculty two years ago. A comparatist, Fuchs holds joint appointments in the English and the Spanish and Portuguese departments. As a scholar and educator, she routinely mines unexplored connections and opportunities in European cultural output from the late 15th through 18th centuries.
"In my field, we’re constantly looking for unexpected connections," said Fuchs. "There’s huge interest in how literatures transcend national borders, and in tracing the steps of individuals who moved from place to place through migration or exile. Texts that we once saw as just literature actually contain a lot of history."
In her classes, Fuchs coaxes students trained in a national tradition to think outside their conventional zones.
"My challenge is to show the students that the study of connections is about finding commonalities with periods that are very different from our own." Fuchs’ courses on the history of East/West divides also shed light on the background of current issues such as terrorism and revolt in places such as North Africa.
"There’s that moment," she said, "when I can see them thinking, ‘Am I allowed to go here?"
The reading room in the Clark Library
Fuchs collaborated this fall with UCLA humanities colleagues art historian Charlene Villaseñor-Black and musicologist Elisabeth C. Le Guin on putting together a musical concert to complement an ongoing exhibition of art from Spain’s conquest of Mexico and Peru at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Organizers believe the Dec. 2 concert was the first time Mexican music has ever been performed at the library.
Fuchs is in conversation with the head of UCLA’s theater department, Michael Hackett, about the possibility of staging performances at the library.
She also introduced special $10 student rates for Chamber Music at the Clark , the library’s critically acclaimed concert series. Tickets regularly priced at $25 are now in such demand that organizers use a lottery to distribute the seats that, they say, often could sell three times over.
She also has met with Kristy Edmunds, UCLA Live's new artistic and executive director, to explore the idea of presenting UCLA Live events at the Clark.
In addition, she has embraced more modest changes designed to make a big impact on the campus community. In October, Fuchs began a free shuttle service between campus and the library. She has instituted a schedule of regular tours of the library’s historic main floor, which otherwise is only open by appointment and for special events.
A beautiful ceiling in the rare book library
"We want to bring the Clark closer to UCLA and involve graduate students as well as undergraduate students," Fuchs said.
Despite her flair for innovation, Fuchs is savvy about preserving what works. Fuchs’ predecessor, Peter Reill, who founded the chamber music series at the Clark and built it into a critically acclaimed success before his retirement last year, remains the head of the committee that selects performers for the series. In addition, former Head Librarian Bruce Whiteman, a musicologist and poet whose concert program notes are legendary among series regulars, will continue to contribute his services.
"I’m proud to be the steward of such a venerable place, with so many beloved traditions and a strong tradition of excellence," Fuchs said. "I just want to build on that excellence and make more people aware of what we have to offer."
