SACRAMENTO, Calif. – California State Parks has named Chris Rockwell as Librarian for the California State Railroad Museum (CSRM) Library & Archives that provides free public access to the Railroad Museum’s impressive and extensive documentary collections. The CSRM Library & Archives serves as a valuable community and industry resource that responds to approximately 5,000 requests per year from a wide range of individuals, including historians, genealogists, writers, students, film makers, members of the legal community as well as from the general public.
Chris is only the third person to serve as Librarian for the CSRM Library & Archives since opening in 1981 at the same time as the California State Railroad Museum, North America’s most popular rail museum. In his role as Librarian, Chris is responsible for collecting, cataloging and maintaining the Library’s published material including books, pamphlets and maps which enhance the Museum’s services and support its conservation and education programs. He also assists visitors in finding rail-related information and/or documentation guests are researching.
With a Master’s in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University, Chris joins the CSRM Library & Archives most recently from California State University, Sacramento (CSUS) where he worked as a staff archivist for 10 years. In that role, a few of his responsibilities included overseeing assistants and staff working on various archival related projects; providing research and reference to the campus community and public; arranging and describing collections; cataloging books and manuscripts; and providing valuable outreach to the community.
Chris invites and encourages interested community members to visit the CSRM Library & Archives to discover more about our fascinating railroad heritage. Located adjacent to the Railroad Museum on the second floor of the Big Four Building at 111 I Street in Old Sacramento State Historic Park, the CSRM Library & Archives is free and open to the public year-round on Tuesdays through Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m. For more information about the CSRM Library & Archives or the Railroad Museum in general, please call 916-323-9280.