Ever wish you could eat, drink and socialize in the quiet of the library?  Now is your chance. The University of California, San Diego, will host its annual “Dinner in the Library” Sept. 16 to benefit the UC San Diego Libraries. Held in the newly renovated Arts Library in the university’s iconic Geisel Library, the event will include cocktails, dinner and talk by Hugh M. Davies, the David C. Copley Director of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, on “Metropolis and Mortar Board: Aligned or Aloof?” 

The UC San Diego Libraries, ranked among the top 25 public academic research libraries in the nation, play an integral role in advancing and supporting the university’s research, teaching, patient care and public service missions.

Proceeds from the benefit will provide funds to help the UC San Diego Libraries meet its greatest needs, including the ability to purchase significant research materials, utilize technological advancements for information delivery, improve community access to the Libraries, implement new public services and more.

“The role of the library is changing, as are the materials we are charged with preserving,” said Brian E.C. Schottlaender, the Audrey Geisel University Librarian. “Private support is essential to ensure that the UC San Diego Libraries — an important resource for the university and San Diego community — remain among the top public research libraries in the nation.”

The nine libraries that comprise the UC San Diego Library system provide access to more than 7 million digital and print volumes, journals and multimedia materials to meet the knowledge demands of scholars, students and members of the public.  Each day, more than 7,300 people stream through one of the university’s nine libraries. The libraries’ vast resources and services are accessed more than 87,500 times each day via the UC San Diego Libraries’ website.

For the first time, this year’s event will feature the Geisel Citation for Library Philanthropy, awarded to Arthur Brody, founding chair of the UC San Diego University Librarian Advisory Board. Brody, an inventor who has provided innovative products and services to libraries in the U.S. and Canada, has a long history of support for the UC San Diego Libraries. He worked with founding University Librarian Melvin J. Voigt in the 1960s to acquire furniture, equipment and core book collections for the newly established UC San Diego, UC Irvine and UC Santa Cruz Libraries. In addition to making annual charitable gifts to the UC San Diego Libraries, Brody established the Arthur Brody Collection Endowment for the Biomedical Library and donated a leadership gift to the University Librarian’s Advisory Board “Fund for the Future.”

“We are thrilled to honor Arthur Brody with the Geisel Citation for Philanthropy,” said Schottlaender. “It is only fitting that Mr. Brody is the inaugural recipient of this prestigious award. He has provided decades of invaluable support and advice that have helped the UC San Diego Libraries become the top university library in the region.”

A limited number of tickets for “Dinner in the Library” are available for $225. Cocktails will be served at 6 p.m., followed by dinner in the Arts Library at 7 p.m., a talk by Davies and the inaugural awarding of the Geisel Citation.  For more information, visit www.libraries.ucsd.edu.