Kennedy Library supports alternative approaches to scholarship with a commitment to amplify underrepresented topics and voices. We do this by shaping, sharing, and fueling stories with collaborators in art, exhibits, and digital publishing. We do this on the lands of yak titʸu titʸu yak tiłhini, the Northern Chumash tribe, upon which we are grateful guests.
Impact: visual communication of information, an exhibit that focused on the diversity of visual communication created by students, faculty, and staff across the university. Photo: Jett Witlin/Kennedy Library
Community member Lily Aradanas and Dr. Grace Yeh pose with Objects of Affection, a traveling exhibit.
Nisei Diploma Project: Stories from California Polytechnic State University
There are many ways to get involved with Kennedy Library. Be sure to check out our past exhibits below which feature faculty, students, and special guests.
University Art Collection: Management of and facilitating access to the University Art Collection is part of the portfolio of the Robert E. Kennedy Library resources. Creative Works provides educational access to the collection, coordinates art acquisition proposals, and oversees storage and preservation of the collections to ensure that the program remains in compliance with policy and meets the purpose and needs of the University. The program also provides experiential learning opportunities with the university art collection (including an internship program, access to the collection through an online catalog, and course integration).
Digital Publishing Program: Aims to enhance access to Cal Poly scholarship through a digitally immersive, interactive system that focuses on collaboration, accessible approaches, and recognition of individuals’ places within structural systems. This structural solution brings inclusive practices, equity, and justice to the forefront of scholarly publishing at Cal Poly centering historically underrepresented identities, perspectives and creativity.
Returning after the renovation!
Faculty Exhibit Program and Community Galleries: Collaborative faculty-driven exhibits; and adaptable gallery spaces for students and faculty to showcase their scholarly and creative work in a variety of ways. The program includes a publishing component through the production of visually rich digital exhibit catalogs. These spaces offer the campus community self-curated public venues to share projects and artwork in a relatively informal setting.
Borrow an exhibit: Kennedy Library’s traveling exhibits have been developed to help share the unique cultural images and resources found in the library’s collections with broader communities. Traveling exhibits are available on topics that include regional history of San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly history, architecture and the built environment, and multicultural communities in California and the Central Coast.