Friends of the Library

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ABOUT THE FRIENDS OF THE ahc liBRARY

The Friends of the Allan Hancock College Library provide vital ongoing support for the AHC Library. The funds raised through contributions, donations, and special events enable the library to expand the educational resources offered to students and the community. The Friends of the Allan Hancock College Library was formed in Spring 2000 as part o Friends of the Library f the Allan Hancock College Foundation.

The mission of The Friends of the Allan Hancock College Library is to enhance library resources and programs and foster an appreciation for the library. This will be accomplished by strengthening ties to the community, encouraging bequests and gifts to the library, sponsoring special events and programs that enhance the awareness of the library, and supporting the literary works of students, faculty, and staff of Allan Hancock College

Become a friend today!

The primary goal of the Friends is to raise funds for materials, projects, and services that exceed the resources of the library budget. Other goals include:

Fostering enthusiasm for the library and strengthening ties to the community.
Encouraging bequests and gifts to the library.
Sponsoring special events and programs that enhance the awareness of the library.
Supporting the literary works of students, faculty, and staff of Allan Hancock College.
Support students working to achieve their educational goals by providing an annual Friends of the Allan Hancock College Library scholarship.

FRIENDS OF THE AHC LIBRARY BOOK CLUB

Friends of the Library Book Club: The Friends of the Allan Hancock College Library invites all staff and faculty to participate in timely discussions, develop relationships with peers and mentors, gain a fresh perspective, and re-energize as a team, all through a monthly Book Club!

Visit the link below to join the discussion!

Join us virtually the First Friday of every month

Friday, October 4th at 12pm: Free Read, come tell us what you've been reading/are currently reading!

Friday, November 1st at 12pm:

Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World by Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant

In this vulnerable and urgent memoir, Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant explores the ever-shifting relationship between humans, animals, and the earth through her personal journey to becoming a wildlife ecologist. Growing up in the diverse and bustling California Bay Area, renowned wildlife ecologist Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant always felt worlds away from the white male adventurers she watched explore the wilderness on TV. She dreamed of a future where she could spend sleepless nights under the crowded canopies of the Amazon and the starry skies of the savanna. But as Rae set off on her own journey in the wild, finding her way in a profession where there were few scientists who looked like her, she saw nature’s delicate balance in a new light. In her quest to study the ever-shifting relationship between humans, animals, and place, Rae has realized the vital roles we each play not just as stewards for our land and water, but also for our communities, each other, and ourselves. Wild Life follows Rae from her urban childhood in California and Virginia, to her adventures and explorations in some of the world’s most rugged and remote locales. Hers is a story about a career in the wild spanning nearly two decades, carving a niche for herself as one of very few Black female scientists, and the challenges she has had to overcome, expectations she has had to leave behind, and the many lessons she has learned along the way. Through her personal story of resilience and adaptation, Rae argues for a more connected, more socially and ecologically conscious world. An incredible journey spanning the Great Plains of North America to the rainforests of Madagascar, Wild Life sheds light on our pivotal relationship and responsibility to the natural world and the relatives—both human and otherwise—that we share it with.

Friday, December 6th, at 12pm:

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him. Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?

WINNER OF THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE
WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR FICTION
In inimitable style, Hilary Mantel's New York Times bestselling Wolf Hall is "a darkly brilliant reimagining of life under Henry VIII. . . . Magnificent." (The Boston Globe).
The basis for the TV series on BBC and PBS Masterpiece starring Mark Rylance as Thomas Cromwell.

Friday, January 3rd, at 12pm:

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity's creation and evolution - a number one international best seller - that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be "human".

One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited Earth. Yet today there is only one - Homo sapiens. What happened to the others? And what may happen to us?

Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago, with the appearance of modern cognition. From examining the role evolving humans have played in the global ecosystem to charting the rise of empires, Sapiens integrates history and science to reconsider accepted narratives, connect past developments with contemporary concerns, and examine specific events within the context of larger ideas.

Dr. Harari also compels us to look ahead, because, over the last few decades, humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us but also ourselves. Where is this leading us, and what do we want to become?

This provocative and insightful work is sure to spark debate and is essential for aficionados of Jared Diamond, James Gleick, Matt Ridley, Robert Wright, and Sharon Moalem.

Friday, February 7th, at 12pm:

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Barcelona, 1945: Just after the war, a great world city lies in shadow, nursing its wounds, and a boy named Daniel awakes on his 11th birthday to find that he can no longer remember his mother's face. To console his only child, Daniel's widowed father, an antiquarian book dealer, initiates him into the secret of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a library tended by Barcelona's guild of rare-book dealers as a repository for books forgotten by the world, waiting for someone who will care about them again.

Daniel's father coaxes him to choose a volume from the spiraling labyrinth of shelves, one that, it is said, will have a special meaning for him. And Daniel so loves the novel he selects, The Shadow of the Wind by one Julian Carax, that he sets out to find the rest of Carax's work. To his shock, he discovers that someone has been systematically destroying every copy of every book this author has written. In fact, he may have the last one in existence. Before Daniel knows it, his seemingly innocent quest has opened a door into one of Barcelona's darkest secrets, an epic story of murder, magic, madness, and doomed love.

An uncannily absorbing historical mystery, a heart-piercing romance, and a moving homage to the mystical power of books, The Shadow of the Wind is a triumph of the storyteller's art.

Barry Award

Book Sense Book of the Year

Borders Original Voices Award

Gumshoe Award

Horror Guild Award

Joseph-Beth and Davis-Kidd Booksellers Fiction Award

NYPL Books to Remember

Food For a Cause

Please join the Habit Burger Grill in support of the AHC Friends of the Library Wednesday, September 25th from 4-9pm at the Habit Burger Grill Santa Maria location 985 E. Betteravia Rd. (in front of Lowe's).
The Habit Burger Grill will donate 20% of net sales from this event to benefit the Friends of the Library. Simply present this flyer on your phone to the cashier when you order. Thank you for your support!

Poetry Symposium

Dr. Kate Adams Poetry Symposium featuring Jakeel Harris

The Friends of the Allan Hancock Library welcome everyone to celebrate Poetry Month with guest spoken word artist Jakeel Harris to reflect on the legacy of Dr. Adams and to enjoy a reading from Jakeel.

Wednesday, April 3, at 2 p.m. on the Library Patio

Jakeel Harris is an educator, speaker, community organizer, author, and spoken word poet who tackles topics of social justice, leadership, and self-awareness. He performs and writes spoken word poetry under the pseudonym SPEAKS, which is also the non-profit organization and movement he has founded. Jakeel uses his life experiences as a platform to discuss important issues that plague our society.

Friends Sponsored Film Series

Allan Hancock Film & Video Program and the Friends of the Library will be presenting a Tim Burton Film Retrospective April 19th and April 26th, 2024.

“Beetlejuice” Friday, April 19, 2024

"Big Fish" Friday, April 26, 2024

Screenings are held in the Fine Arts Complex, Screening Room F257, on the Santa Maria campus. Light refreshments will be served in the theater lounge beginning at 6 p.m. Lecture and screening begin at 6:30 p.m.
Each film features a brief, pre-screening lecture by Allan Hancock College Film Professor Chris Hite, and a post-screening discussion.
Screenings are FREE, but seating is limited. Please reserve seats by following the QR code or visit
hancockcollege.edu/pathways/creative-arts/film-video.php
Lecture, screening, and post-screeningdiscussion with Film Professor Chris Hite

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On Friday, November 3, at 6 pm, Hancock's Film & Video Program, in collaboration with the Friends of the AHC Library, screened the classic 1960s British film "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning" in the Fine Arts Complex (Bldg. F, Room 257).

On Friday, November 17, at 6 pm, in the second night of this series, Hancock's Film & Video Program, with the Friends of the AHC Library, will be a screening of "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" in Bldg F., Room 257. Come learn about this period of cinema and hear a lecture by Prof. Chris Hite. Light refreshments will be served. This screening is free. Seating is limited to 54. Hope to see you there!

film series event flier

FREE LECTURE SERIES AT AHC!

In February and March of 2020, the Friends of the AHC Library sponsored a series of free lectures presented by AHC faculty on the topic of the play Julius Caesar (in conjunction with PCPA's production of it). Missed the lectures? Enjoy Dr. Omidsalar's lecture on tyranny.

Missing your AHC family? See more lectures from the Friends of the Library-sponsored lecture series "Captain G. Allan Hancock -- Man on the Go," presented by Dr. Roger Hall in the fall of 2018.

View Lecture 1 of "Captain G. Allan Hancock -- Man on the Go"

View Lecture 2 of "Captain G. Allan Hancock -- Man on the Go"

View Lecture 3 of "Captain G. Allan Hancock -- Man on the Go"

View "WWI: A Centennial Perspective"

SPIKE & FRIENDS READ ALOUD

The Friends of the AHC Library were so proud to be partners in starting a new read-aloud program called “Spike & Friends Reads Aloud"! During the spring and summer, new videos were shared of a book reading and these were be posted on AHC’s social media pages. (The readings will be presented by our wonderful PCPA student readers and Early Childhood Studies students, as well as librarians and other brave readers.) We are working on looking at ways to continue programming for this.

More than ever, reading remains an important part of self-care and intellectual stimulation, as well as a source of calm, comfort, joy, and personal growth. With physical libraries closed across the country, we wanted to remind our community that the library remains here for you, and we are committed to promoting literacy and a lifelong love of reading and learning. Won’t you join us for a read?

Spike & Friends Read Aloud is made impossible through a partnership with PCPA, the AHC Early Childhood Studies program, the Orfalea Children’s Center, and the Friends of the AHC Library. Hear (and view) Spike and friends read aloud by visiting the AHC Facebook page and the AHC Instagram page. New videos will be premiered on Mondays and Fridays. We hope you will join us!