Maynard A. Amerine Viticulture and Enology Endowment Fund

New acquisitions for the viticulture and enology collections are made possible, in part, by the Maynard A. Amerine Wine Book Endowment Fund. First established in 1983 with a gift from Arnold A. Baynard, an initial appeal to augment this fund resulted in responses from over 100 supporters, including foundations, corporations and individual donors. This testament to Maynard Amerine was indicative of the high regard in which his scholarship and contributions to the fields of viticulture and enology was held. In 1998, the fund became a permanent endowment. The endowment continues to generate earnings which may be used to purchase rare and unusual literature in grape growing and wine making as items become available. The Maynard A. Amerine Wine Book Endowment Fund is one of the gift options included in the University Library Annual Fund. Those interested in making a charitable donation to the Amerine Wine Book Endowment Fund are recognized as Library Associates, with the benefits to which donor members are entitled.

The Legacy of Maynard A. Amerine

The Amerine Room, located on the third floor of Shields Library and adjacent to the Biological/Agricultural Sciences Reference Department, now includes an exhibit of some of the numerous awards bestowed on the late emeritus professor of viticulture and enology. The exhibit is open during the library's regular hours.

Following Professor Amerine's death in 1998, the trustees of his estate petitioned the publishers of his books to reassign all future royalties for the benefit of the Library's Maynard A. Amerine Wine Book Endowment Fund.

Marjan & Marija Merala Health Sciences Libraries Endowment Fund

Marjan Merala, D.V.M., MLS, was the head of the Health Sciences Libraries from 1959 until his retirement in 1986. Under his direction, it was developed from a single branch library to a comprehensive health sciences library, occupying a two-level building in the health sciences complex on the Davis campus, and a separate branch in Sacramento to serve the UCD Health System.

As head librarian and ultimately Associate University Librarian, Marjan Merala served the faculty, staff and students of UC Davis in an exemplary manner for twenty-seven years. His tenure was distinguished in many ways, not the least of which was the challenge of several relocations of the library on the Davis campus before he collaborated with the founding dean of the school of medicine on the construction of the structure in which it is located today.

Dr. Merala exercised his exceptional collection development acumen to create a body of health sciences materials which faculty from the schools of medicine and veterinary medicine regard as among the finest in the nation and world. The unique strengths he brought to his career included degrees in veterinary medicine and library science, a mastery of several languages and an outstanding service ethos. He applied all of these for the direct benefit of the clientele of the Health Sciences Libraries.

The Marjan and Marija Merala Health Sciences Libraries Endowment Fund campaign began in Fall 1999 and is the first general collections endowment for the health sciences libraries.

Named after the founding health sciences librarian, Marjan Merala and his late wife Marija, the fund was established to augment the collections budget for the Carlson Health Sciences Library and the Blaisdell Medical Library, in light of the increasing costs for both print and electronic resources in the health sciences. A named endowment to continue the development of the collections and thus the services he stewarded so effectively over his career is a fitting public testament to his legacy. This honor was also accorded to his late wife, Marija, who was herself a long-time UC Davis employee. Unfortunately, she did not live to share his retirement with him.