FRESNO, CA (KMJ) – Fresno’s State Library archive is being expanded thanks to a $100,000 grant from the Central Valley Community Foundation.
Fresno State President Joseph I. Castro, (above, second from left) Peter McDonald, the Dean of Library Services, (second from right) and Howard K. Watkins (middle) were present as Ashley Swearengin, the President and CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation, (above, far left) presented the check on Tuesday, February 28th to establish the Howard K. Watkins Photographic Archive.
Watkins is a retired attorney who has amassed a collection of more than 300,000 photographs. He began taking photos in the 1960s of elected officials, community and business leaders, celebrities, community groups, events, historic buildings, and public art. He considers it a reflection of the community’s collective experience.
“For the Madden Library, we will have eventually 50,000 photographs covering 1973-2002 that are fully indexed, so you can search by any term that’s put in the index, so a name of a person, an organization, the date of the event, and then they will be free to download for personal use.” – Howard K. Watkins,
The online collection is the largest of its kind documenting much of the greater Fresno/Clovis area since the 1970’s including photos of celebrities, athletes and leaders, including Muhammad Ali and Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
The Howard K. Watkins Photo Archive Fund was established at the Central Valley Community Foundation in 2006 and has currently received donations from 935 donors with the goal to make the photographs accessible to the public. The permanent archive will be available to students and members of the general public for research purposes and to experience a visual history of the community over the last four decades.
“When we come together as a community, we make history. Now, we get to enjoy our community’s history through the lens of Howard K. Watkins.” -Ashley Swearengin, President, CEO, Central Valley Community Foundation,
Click below to listen to the story by KMJ’s Liz Kern:
