On Thursday, November 17, 2016, UCR Library announced the opening of the George Brown Papers for scholarly research.

A private reception held on the first floor of Tomás Rivera Library honored Congressman George Brown’s life and work and recognized how his legacy will continue to serve future generations through this collection. Attendees included Brown’s widow, Marta Macias Brown, who had worked extensively with library employees to help make this collection available to the public.

 “The wealth of materials in the papers will prove a fantastic resource for researchers interested in public policy, local history, the legislative process, and a number of economic, environmental, and social issues,” stated Collections Management Librarian Jessica Geiser. Geiser was first hired as a project archivist for the George Brown collection in September 2014. She led a team of students that documented their two-year long effort to organize and catalog this extensive assortment of primary source materials.

The collection includes over 1,000 boxes of professional and personal papers, photographs, audiovisual and digital materials, memorabilia, and more. Geiser and her team put great effort into ensuring easy access to the collection through the online finding aid. Resources on federal science and technology policy, environmental protection efforts including water and air pollution regulation, alternative fuel and energy development, land preservation and protection efforts, and climate change prevention are housed on the fourth floor of Rivera Library in Special Collections & University Archives. Materials are available for review in the reading room.

University Librarian Steven Mandeville-Gamble remarked, “George Brown was a great example of someone who could collaborate across party lines while working toward the greater good, which serves as a wonderful reminder of what is needed most during times of great change, like those we are currently experiencing.”

In many ways, Brown was a visionary whose contributions were ahead of his time. Brown was elected to the United States House of Representatives to represent the Los Angeles region from 1963 to 1971, and the Inland Empire from 1973 until his death in 1999. Noteworthy accomplishments during Brown’s 34-year tenure include the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Office of Science Technology Policy, scholarships for veterans, and Section 8 housing for low-income citizens.