I just returned from a trip to Santa Barbara, California where I presented two lectures to the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society: “Genealogy and the Changing Map of Eastern Europe” and “A New Look at Immigrant Passenger Manifests”.
After the program, I was treated to a quick tour of Santa Barbara and, in particular, a personal tour of the library of the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society, the Sahyun Library, located at 316 Castillo Street, Santa Barbara.
The Sahyun Library
SOURCE: The Sahyun Library (Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County, California). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 17 October 2009. Copyright © 2009 by Stephen J. Danko.
The library houses an impressive collection of books and microforms, a computer lab, and rooms for meetings and presentations. The fireside room in particular is a warm and inviting space for personal research and meetings.
Fireside Room
SOURCE: The Fireside Room (Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County, California). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 17 October 2009. Copyright © 2009 by Stephen J. Danko.
The facility is the gift of the family of Dr. Melville Sahyun, an immigrant from Lebanon whose distinguished career in biochemistry and pharmaceutics led to the development of a number of commercial products, the best known of which is Visine.
Fifty years ago, Dr. Sahyun planted a seed of a Cherry Tree of the Rio Grande (of Brazil) which grew into a beautiful tree on the property. The tree has great sentimental value to the Sahyun family and, so, when the Santa Barbara Genealogical Society decided to expand the library by building an addition, the Society relocated the tree to another location on the property in order to allow room for the expansion and save the tree.
Cherry Tree of the Rio Grande
SOURCE: Cherry Tree of the Rio Grande (Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County, California). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 17 October 2009. Copyright © 2009 by Stephen J. Danko.
The library includes over 14,000 items, the books being the most obvious to visitors to the library.
Stacks at the Sahyun Library
SOURCE: Stacks at the Sahyun Library (Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara County, California). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 17 October 2009. Copyright © 2009 by Stephen J. Danko.
In all, a fine day in Santa Barbara.
Copyright © 2009 by Stephen J. Danko
