Cal State Collects

February 7–May 19, 2023

This museum cares for thousands of art objects produced anywhere from the time of the Second World War until today. Across campus, a variety of collecting units collect and care for many other types of objects. Ranging from living and preserved animals to video games and rare books, California State University Long Beach is home to many collections meant to support learning and engagement with the world around us. 

Though visitors couldn’t check most of these learning tools out or take them home as you would with circulating library resources, collections on campus are like libraries in other ways. Democratic, accessible, and publicly owned, campus collection objects are held and conserved here not only for the benefit of CSULB students but for anyone with curiosity and wonder. Museums and collection rooms often offer relatively unrestricted access to collection objects as part of a trust relationship with their publics. These collections are managed by professionals with expertise and knowledge they develop in service to the human community. Preservers of knowledge, collections and collections professionals are part of a trinity of parts; those who use collections complete a partnership grounded in a commitment to advancing knowledge. The museum visitor’s role is a critical part in bringing meaning and value to collection objects.

Image:
Artist unknown
Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis (The Hours of Antoine de Bourbon and Jeane 
d’Albret, King and Queen of Navarre, Parents of King Henry IV of France), c. 1480
Manuscript of 128 vellum leaves
145 x 108 mm. (5, ¾ x 4 ½ inches)
Gift of Madelyn Hickmott in 1980, Special Collections and University Archives, CSULB
Installation detail image by Tatiana Mata