PIA Donates Graphic Communication Library to Cal Poly
Well-known industry leader Raymond J. Prince, also instrumental in bringing the resource to Cal Poly, said, “The Printing Industries of America donation and the holdings of the Graphic Communication Department’s Resource Room will make this the largest graphic communication library in the world. During my days at GATF, I found inspiration in the writings of hundreds of writers.”
The Resource Room contains many rare publications, including a complete set of American Printer magazines dating from 1883 and a complete set of Graphic Arts Monthly from its beginnings in 1929.
Moving the Wadewitz Library to Cal Poly continues a partnership between Cal Poly and Printing Industries of America to keep the history of printing and related processes in the forefront of industry leaders.
Printing Industries of America President and CEO Michel Makin said he welcomes the opportunity to partner with the university. “Cal Poly has the resources and knowledgeable staff to manage this amazing collection. The students and staff will have at their fingertips a wealth of information and be able to attain a great appreciation of our industry.”
Levenson noted that print media “is often considered the most pervasive, informative, detailed and meaningful mass communication that has ever existed. The Wadewitz Library will help perpetuate this understanding and could be used in planning how the medium may be successfully used today and in the future.”
“The Wadewitz Library also serves as a viable working library consistent with Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing philosophy.”
Douglas Epperson, dean of Cal Poly’s College of Liberal Arts (in which the Graphic Communication Department is housed), also noted, “As Cal Poly grows its undergraduate offerings and expands its graduate programs, the Wadewitz Library will serve interdisciplinary education. A new graphic communication master’s degree program in printed electronics and functional imaging is scheduled to begin next year. Cal Poly has become one of the most selective comprehensive universities in the nation, with students among the country’s top achievers. The Wadewitz Library will enhance the education of these future leaders in graphic communication and related fields.”
About Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Named the West’s best public master’s-level university for two decades by U.S. News and World Report, Cal Poly is a comprehensive polytechnic campus of about 18,000 mostly undergraduate students on California’s Central Coast. One of the most selective of the California State University’s 23 campuses, Cal Poly provides a renowned Learn by Doing education aimed at producing innovative professionals and future industry leaders in science and technology as well as the liberal arts.
About the Graphic Communication Department
The Graphic Communication Department was founded in 1946 and is one of the largest and best-known programs of its kind in the United States. It includes concentrations in graphic communication management, Web and digital media, design reproduction technology, graphics for packaging, and individualized study. The program is strongly supported by industry with grants and endowments and with equipment, supplies and software for the department’s more than 33,000 square feet of modern laboratories. The department is nationally accredited by the Accrediting Council for Collegiate Graphic Communications. The Graphic Communication Institute at Cal Poly focuses on services for industry, including research, testing, product evaluations, consulting, training, seminars, workshops, conferences and publishing.
About the Robert E. Kennedy Library
The Robert E. Kennedy Library is a campus hub for information resources, integrating traditional library resources and technology to support the university's evolving academic programs, research interests, and user needs. The library offers expert research support and access to more than 32,000 digital journals and over 500,000 print volumes, as well as rare and unique materials in its Special Collections and Archives. The library building provides collaborative study spaces, computer labs, and a Data Studio. Visitors exceed 1.3 million a year. In 2008, the library launched DigitalCommons@CalPoly, a digital archive for the intellectual output of faculty and students with more than 2 million downloads in the past year.
About Printing Industries of America
Printing Industries of America is the world’s largest graphic arts professional association, representing approximately 1 million employees and serving the interests of thousands of member companies. Together with its nationwide affiliate network, Printing Industries of America delivers products and services that enhance the growth, efficiency and profitability of its members and the graphic communication industry through advocacy, education, research and technical information.
