George and Mary Foster Anthropology Library
Specialist anthropology library
The George and Mary Foster Anthropology Library is one of the subject specialty libraries at University of California, Berkeley, and is one of only three anthropology libraries at American research universities. The library supports the University of California, Berkeley anthropology department.
History
The Anthropology Museum and anthropology department at UC Berkeley were founded in 1901, followed by a small departmental library established before 1909.
Yet "when I came to Berkeley in 1948, there was no Anthropology Library,” professor John Rowe wrote. Rowe found it difficult to access anthropology books scattered throughout the Main library, and so established a one-room anthropology library in the department's new temporary quarters. The two-floor anthropology library was eventually established in Kroeber Hall in 1959.
According to LibraryThing, the library was established in 1956 as a separate branch.
Renaming
The UC Berkeley anthropology library was renamed after Berkeley anthropologists George and Mary Foster in 1997.
Occupy Cal in the Anthropology Library, 2012
On January 17, 2012, a proposal was brought to the Occupy Cal General Assembly to occupy the library due to a decision by administration to reduce the library's hours and services. Part of the overall trend of privatization and divestment in public resources, the university has reduced spending on its libraries by 12 percent since 2012.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “George and Mary Foster Anthropology Library” as specialist anthropology library. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as specialist anthropology library. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q23303034. Authority coordinates are 37.870, -122.255. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1901, 1909, 1948 and 1959.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “George and Mary Foster Anthropology Library”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow George and Mary Foster Anthropology Library primary sources, George and Mary Foster Anthropology Library archive and George research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “George and Mary Foster Anthropology Library”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “George and Mary Foster Anthropology Library” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.