UC Berkeley Art Practice
Department of Art Practice at UC Berkeley

Garron Reading Room

The Garron Reading Room

The Garron Reading Room at UC Berkeley’s Anthropology + Art Practice Building

A selection of books in the North American art shelves. Bright green stripes indicate recent acquisitions. Image: Stephanie Syjuco.

The Garron Reading Room is a specialized, non-circulating art book collection run by the Department of Art Practice. It features thousands of volumes of artist monographs, catalogs, art history texts, books on theory, zines, and more.

The books inside the Garron are a valuable resource available to all Art Practice students, staff, and faculty, who can reserve the room for research, gatherings and/or self-study. The books cannot be checked out and remain in the room. Graduate students can arrange for 24-hour access. The Garron is often used for class and faculty meetings, and features skylights and ample seating area. It has an A/V monitor on a rolling cart and a white board.

Our holdings include books and research material donated by current and former Art Practice professors including: Sidney Gordin, Erle Loran, George Miyasaki, James “Jim” Melchert, Richard Shaw, Sylvia Lark, and Worth Ryder, as well as alumni such as Sonya Rapoport (MA’49) and Farley Gwazda (MFA’09). Special Collections material include rare and out-of-print items such as Adrian Piper’s “Colored People,” (1991) an original Castelli/Sonnabend Videotape and Film Catalog (1974), a binder of Gemini G.E.L. catalog raisonne and edition documents signed by Robert Rauschenberg (circa 1975), and MFA thesis papers with approval signatures by faculty such as Joan Brown (1980s).

A serendipitous photocopy insert found within a book donated to the Garron from former Professor Sidney Gordin. Many books include notations indicating pedagocial focus and how it was used in classroom teaching. Image: Stephanie Syjuco

Research access

Garron Reading Room newspaper clipping

Newspaper article announcing the founding of the Garron Reading Room.

The Garron is reserved for Art Practice students, staff and faculty. University researchers may request a visit or access via the faculty contact below.

Location: 346 Anthropology + Art Practice Building
Semester access hours by request: M-F, 9am-4pm. See Dillon Thomas in the Art Office across the hall to unlock.
Faculty and graduate student reservations: email Dillon Thomas: dillont@berkeley.edu
Faculty contact: Stephanie Syjuco: ssyjuco@berkeley.edu

Garron Reading Room updates

In Spring 2023 the Garron successfully absorbed into its holdings the Art Book Library, a collection of over 300 contemporary art books and zines originally held at the Worth Ryder Gallery and founded by Farley Gwazda, former Gallery director and MFA alum.

Since summer 2023 the Garron is undergoing a needed update, including:

  • planned installation of UV-protective film on the skylights to prevent sun fading and damage to the collection

  • mending and wrapping hardcover books in mylar sleeves for protection, and placing slim catalogs in archival poly sleeves

  • creating new research categories that reflect current faculty work and relabeling the shelves for easier navigation

  • creating a “special collections” section of fragile or valuable out-of-print publications

  • targeting a list of new book acquisitions to augment the original holdings

  • numbering and keywording each of the estimated 10,000 books into an online, searchable database

  • creating a room map/finding aid

  • creating an ongoing archive of class publications, faculty and MFA catalogs, and departmental posters

  • working with students to support individual research opportunities within the collection

History of the Garron Reading Room

The Frances Wulzen Garron Reading Room opened its doors in October 1991. Frances Garron (UC Berkeley class of 1931) generously donated $50,000 to the Art Practice Department to support its beginnings. A fundraiser was held to start the collection and books were all acquired through faculty and emeritus donations. The Garron operates on an annual budget of $500 provided by the original endowment, and is independent from the UC Library system.

To inquire about donating art books to the Garron, please contact artdept@berkeley.edu. Please do not drop off unsolicited books as we cannot process them.

Selected Departmental Catalogs and Publications

A selection of Garron Reading Room books, browsable through the online database.