In my childhood days I frequently passed the Stanford home on my way to school and I often wished that I might enter the house and see with my own eyes the home in which Governor and Mrs. Stanford once entertained so lavishly, and especially did I want to see the room where young Leland was born. The house was not open to visitors then and, for some reason or other, I never had the courage to go up to the door and ask the good sister to let me enter. Once the kindly gardener made me happy by giving me some of the lovely violets that grew in such profusion in the yard. The place still interests me, and now, from the windows of the California Room of the Library I can point with pride to the historic house and tell visitors that they are welcome to visit the home during certain hours of the day, thanks to the hospitality of Sister Lucile and her staff.

I know that you are all interested in hearing something about the history of the house and the changes that have been made in it, but before speaking of this I want to tell something about the California Section of the State Library. After all, that is the only reason for my appearing before you, because you all know that I am better as a literary detective in the field of Californiana than as a public speaker.

The State Library was established in 1850, and the acquisition of California material actually began at that time. The California Section, however, was not organized as such until 1903. The Library, which was then housed in the State Capitol, had throughout its collection, books, magazines, and newspapers which were either printed in California or pertained to the State. The California Section was created by bringing together this scattered material as one collection. Since that time the resources of the department have been steadily increased and its usefulness extended until today it is known to collectors, research workers, and writers throughout the country.

In the California Room are located the rare and most important reference books and the various catalogues and indices maintained as special units of our work.

The staff of the California Section consists of two professional librarians, a newspaper indexer and two library aids. The work is highly specialized and entails much hard work both in and out of library hours, but if one is interested in it there is a glamour and thrill about it that is difficult to describe. We are a vital part of the community. Our public is interested chiefly in the early history and literature of our State, but there is also a wide interest in the history of its art, music, religion, politics, economics, agriculture and allied subjects, so we must have information easily available about material pertaining to these subjects and especially must we be alert to references to current California events and books.

The aim of the State Library is to provide supplementary material to the libraries of the State and to lend to individuals through their local libraries. We try to adhere to this policy, but in the case of writers and research workers, when we know that the material is not in book form and not available elsewhere, we sometimes send the information direct to the individual. This applies particularly to people outside of the State.

Original material, newspapers, certain periodicals, reference books, and books that would be difficult or impossible to replace do not leave the library. If an applicant is unable to come to Sacramento to obtain information from a newspaper or book that does not circulate, we make photostats to a limited extent at a nominal cost for designated items.

We do a limited amount of searching in newspapers for such items as births, marriages, deaths and biographical sketches, when we do not find references in the information file, and these articles, if not too lengthy, are typed free of charge. We are quite willing to extend this search to books and other sources when the question is a difficult and important one which the local librarian is not able to answer because of limited reference tools.

Requests sometimes come to us concerning subjects which would require more specialized research than we have the time to do. In such cases we suggest that the student himself come to the State Library, if possible, and do his research work here. This individual service is a very important part of our work, and we are always glad to make all material available and give every possible assistance.

The book collection includes books on the history and description, resources and industries of the State, as well as the works of California authors in all departments of literature. The work of our fine printers is also represented.

A unique feature of the California collection and one that we believe is as complete as any of its kind in existence is that of California fiction. Books with a California setting or by a California author are included in this group. Many of them are autographed and are the gift of the author. Since it has been found that no other class of literature disappears as rapidly as popular fiction, these books are kept as a representative collection of this type of literature through the various periods of the State's history.

The collection of county histories includes nearly all which have been published. These volumes, especially the early ones, contain much valuable biographical I and historical material and, supplemented by early directories and great registers of voters, they serve as useful reference tools, especially since the biographical sketches in county histories have been indexed in card form. The directories and great registers of voters are also valuable in helping to establish proof of citizenship and in verifying age and residence in this State, particularly for those needing proof for old age pension claims.

An interesting and valuable collection of California periodicals includes complete files of the Pioneer, the first magazine of importance published in the State, the Hesperian, the first magazine illustrated in color, and also complete files of the Overland, Hutchings, Californian and the Argonaut.

The manuscript collection consists of early mission documents, business papers, diaries, letters and reminiscences of pioneers, as well as biographical cards of California authors, artists, musicians, state officials, pioneers and early settlers. As no other material gives a better idea of the true character and spirit of the men and women who came to California, we have listed the letters both by the names of the person and by date, thus assuring the greatest possible use.

Several thousand pictures have been collected, portraying persons, places and events in California history.

A theatrical collection consisting of actors' photographs, playbills, programs, biographical information, manuscripts and printed copies of the work of California players is one of the special features of the department.

Aside from the very definite types of material already listed, there is much in the miscellaneous collection, including old account books, scrapbooks, early ballots and political dodgers, bookplates, sheet music, concert programs and the like.

Perhaps the California Section is better known for its unsurpassed collection of newspapers of the State than for anything else. The file begins with the first paper, the Californian, which started in Monterey on August 15, I846, and includes nearly every representative paper from that time until the present. Nearly all the early San Francisco papers, such as the California Star, the Alta California, the Herald and the Bulletin, as well as many northern papers, including the Placer Times, the Sacramento Union and the Sacramento Bee, are in the collection. These newspapers, now numbering over sixteen thousand volumes, are bound and shelved by counties in the specially constructed newspaper stacks and are listed in a card catalogue by title and locality. At the present time over two hundred California papers are received regularly and about ten from outside the State. Needless to say, these papers do not circulate.

One of the most useful tools in the department is a card index to California material found in California newspapers. The index covers the period from 1846 to date, and the entries, estimated at over five million, are chiefly from San Francisco papers with the exception of about thirty-five thousand cards which were indexed by Winfield Davis from the Sacramento Union. This index is of great assistance in locating sketches of California people and places and items of local historical interest. Frequently people come into the Library and tell us they understand that we have a subject index to all the newspapers published in California, but such is not the case. At the present time the San Francisco Chronicle is the only newspaper being indexed, and it takes the full time of the newspaper indexer to keep it up to date. Only California items are indexed, and legal notices and advertisements are not included.

In addition to the newspaper index and the general dictionary catalogue of California books, several other card catalogues are maintained in the California Room. The information catalogue consists of miscellaneous references to material that has been found in county histories, periodicals, directories, general books, etc. Entries to this index are being constantly added, thus widening its scope and increasing its value.

Perhaps I can best give you an idea of how this material is used by telling you of the assistance we were able to give to the citizens of Sacramento last year when the Centennial was celebrated. Much interest was aroused in the community. Stories of the pioneer days were recalled and old songs and dramas revived. A local newspaper, the Sacramento Bee, published a guidebook, and a group of merchants sponsored a series of broadcasts featuring stories of local interest. Guests invited to many of the large balls and parties that were given were requested to wear costumes of the 1839 period, and we were kept busy advising them regarding the styles and furnishing photostatic copies of costumes to the dressmakers.

Some of the local citizens decided that it would be a good idea to assist in the work of renovating the old Stanford mansion and have it open for inspection during the Centennial celebration. This naturally aroused curiosity regarding the house and its early occupants. The public turned to the State Library for information.

Although the Stanfords were married in 1850, and Mr. Stanford came to California in 1857, it was not until 1855 that Mrs. Stanford came to make her home in Sacramento. At that time there was no suitable dwelling for rent, so they lived in a hotel until a small house on Second Street between O and P Streets became vacant. They furnished this house in a very frugal manner, and Mrs. Stanford did her own housekeeping.

Wealth and distinction came to the Stanfords during their stay in Sacramento. It was here, at 54 K Street, that the Big Four–Stanford, Crocker, Huntington and Hopkins–conceived and carried into successful execution the daring scheme of building a transcontinental railroad. Also very important to us is the fact that these same men were all charter life members of the Sacramento Library Association, which later became the Sacramento Public Library.

The Stanfords entertained frequently in the days of their growing wealth and growing popularity. Yet for all their prominence, only brief mention is to be found in books of the home life of the Stanfords during their residence in Sacramento. Considering the vast amount of material that has been published about them this is rather surprising. After exhausting the references in our indexes we found it necessary to make a diligent search of newspapers, directories, county records, etc., for information.

The first item we located read as follows:

GUBERNATORIAL MANSION.-Leland Stanford purchased yesterday of S. C. Fogus the house and lot on the southeast corner of Eighth and N streets, for the sum of $8,000. The property consists of two full lots– a quarter of a block–with a two-story brick dwelling house, finished in a costly manner inside and out, with addition of frame building, brick stable, fruit trees, shrubbery, etc., surrounding it.