MEDIA RELEASE
KCET’s Huell Howser to Help CSUN Explore the History of Traveling
(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Feb. 19, 2008) — Travelers have served as emissaries for their native lands and explorers and reporters of new ones. Celebrating the diverse richness that marks a travelerŠs life, Cal State Northridge’s Oviatt Library has opened a new exhibition, "Wish You Were Here: Travelers from Antiquity to Modern Times."
The show, which opened Feb. 1 in the C.K. and Teresa Tseng Galley in the west wing of the library, runs through Aug. 1.
Celebrating the exhibit’s subject matter, Huell Howser, host of KCET’s acclaimed travel show, "California’s Gold," will discuss his adventures exploring California, followed by a question and answer period. His presentation is scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 4, on the first floor of the west wing of the library. Seating is limited. A reception and exhibit viewing will follow.
University special collections curator Tony Gardner, who organized and installed the exhibition, said the show explores a variety of aspects of travel, from modes of transportation to travel journals and the evolution of travel guide books, from the time of antiquity to the early 1900s.
"Since antiquity, curiosity about the known world has compelled the adventurous to travel," Gardner said. "Over time, they have set out by foot, carriage, ship and train to reach their destinations. Their own travel accounts guided others who followed."
The exhibition chronicles travelers’ adventures in Europe as well as Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. There also are sections of the show dedicated to traveling in California, with a particular highlight on experiences in Yosemite.
The exhibition was made possible by a generous gift from Gus and Erika Manders and the Friends of the Oviatt Library.
Parking is available on campus for $5. For more information about the exhibition, call (818) 677-2638.
CSUN’s Oviatt Library has more than 1.37 million volumes. It also subscribes to more than 28,000 electronic journals, has more than 16,700 e-book titles and subscribes to 1,700 print periodicals. It has an extensive audio and video collection, numbering well over 24,000 items. The library’s online resources are heavily used, with more than 8.2 million visits to its Web pages and databases annually; and a yearly gate count of 1.4 million patrons. It also has an extensive collection of rare books, manuscripts, documents, photographs, artifacts and other archival materials. The Oviatt Library serves as the main research facility in the San Fernando Valley.