Annual Philanthropic Dinner to Benefit UC San Diego Library Set for Sept. 14

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The iconic Geisel Library building will be the setting for Dinner in the Library.

The University of California, San Diego will host its annual Dinner in the Library fundraiser Friday, Sept. 14 at 5:30 p.m. The evening’s festivities—which will take place in the iconic Geisel Library building—will include a gourmet dinner, a silent auction, and a keynote talk on “The Lost Art of Reading” by Los Angeles Times book critic David Ulin.  Proceeds from the event will help to support the UC San Diego Library’s most pressing needs, including its collections, resources, and services.

Ulin is an award-winning author of several books, including “The Lost Art of Reading: Why Books Matter in a Distracted Time” and “The Myth of Solid Ground: Earthquakes, Prediction, and the Fault Line Between Reason and Faith,” which was selected as a Best Book by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Chicago Tribune. His insightful essays, on topics ranging from the distinctive culture of Los Angeles to the state of contemporary literature, have appeared in numerous publications, including The Atlantic Monthly and The New York Times Book Review, and on NPR’s “All Things Considered.”  Ulin is also the editor of three anthologies: “Cape Cod Noir,” “Another City: Writing from Los Angeles,” and the Library of America’s “Writing Los Angeles: A Literary Anthology,” which won a 2002 California Book Award.

The Dinner in the Library silent auction will offer a wide range of packages, including an art lover’s trip to San Francisco, a literary-themed vacation to New York City, a two-night stay at Lake Arrowhead Resort and Spa, a brewery tasting and limo tour, and more.

In addition, the 2012 Geisel Citation for Library Philanthropy will be presented at the dinner to Don and Maryann Lyle, for their dedication and contributions to the Library. Don served as chair and longtime member of the University Librarian’s Advisory Board. In 2004, the couple established the Maryann and Don Lyle Collection Endowment for Engineering at the UC San Diego Library.

“We are very pleased to be hosting our ninth annual Dinner in the Library with David Ulin,” said Brian E.C. Schottlaender, UC San Diego’s Audrey Geisel University Librarian.  “The Library plays an essential role in supporting and advancing the university’s high-impact research, which leads to groundbreaking insights, discoveries, treatments, and cures that benefit us all. Given the State’s continuing budget difficulties, private support from members of the San Diego community is more critical than ever to preserving the Library’s knowledge resources and services.”

The UC San Diego Library provides access to more than seven million digital and print volumes, journals and multimedia materials to meet the intellectual needs of scholars, students, and community members. Library users have 24/7 digital access to almost 600,000 e-books, 42,000 e-periodicals, and about 300,000 items from the Library’s digitized local collections. Users can also browse the online catalog and other resources via the Library’s mobile app:  http://libraries.ucsd.edu/m.

Sponsors of the 2012 Dinner in the Library include: The Dr. Seuss Fund at The San Diego Foundation, The Evans Foundation, UC San Diego Alumni Association, Karen Dow, Elsevier B.V., Stan and Theresa Fleming, Salah Hassanein and Zandra Rhodes, Jeanne Jones and Don Breitenberg, Michel and Karen Kripalani, Lynn and Cole Owen, Charlie Robins, and Union Bank.

Tickets for Dinner in the Library are available for $225 per person or $1,800 per table. Cocktails and the silent auction begin at 5:30 p.m., with dinner and Ulin’s talk following at 7 p.m. For more information or to register for the dinner, please visit: libraries.ucsd.edu/about/dinner.