MEDIA RELEASE

CSUN Library to Celebrate Scottish Influences on America

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., April 2, 2008) — Cal State Northridge’s Oviatt Library will celebrate National Tartan Day on Friday, April 4, on the lawn in front of the library.

The celebration, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m., will feature herding demonstrations by Border Collies and Scottish athletic competitions, as well as music and pomp and circumstance provided by the award-winning Granada Hills Highlander Marching Band.

The festivities coincide with an exhibition currently on display in the library’s lobby that explores Scottish influences on America. The exhibition runs through April 8.

The influence of Scottish ancestry is deeply woven into the fabric of the United States. Many of America’s founding fathers were of Scottish ancestry.

Exhibit curator, library staffer Bruce McDonald, has assembled a display that features artifacts from Scotland, including some pictures on loan from the RMS Queen Mary Foundation and a full-dress kilt in the "Clan California" tartan. There are copies of the state and federal bills designating April 4 as "National Tartan Day," and an authorized copy of the Declaration of Arbroath, a 1320 letter to Pope John XXII declaring Scottish independence and establishing the country’s status as a sovereign state from the Arbroath Society in Scotland.

The exhibition is free and open to the public during regular library hours, Monday through Thursday, 7:45 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

For more information, call (818) 677-2285.