Book Arts Collection

The Book Arts Collection is a reference collection of over 300 volumes on the art and history of the book, focusing on its development in California and the United States. The core of the collection was a donation by Harold Gross of his books on bookbinding and an endowment by Barbara Gorman. The Book Arts Collection also includes the William & Patricia Standring Collection on English genealogy which is on deposit in Special Collections from the Conejo Valley Genealogical Society.

All Book Arts titles can be found in the library catalog.

Leo Politi Illustrations: Leo Politi (1908-1996) was a renowned artist and author of many children's books. Many of his books used Southern California landmarks as their settings and drew upon the unique cultural and historical heritage of this region. Mr. Politi enjoyed drawing and painting for children and visited many libraries and schools. From 1967 through the 1970s Politi made many visits to the Conejo Library, which later became the Thousand Oaks Library. During these visits he signed several of his books and added watercolor paintings. You can see Politi's work in our Book Arts Collection.