PALO ALTO, Calif. and SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Stanford University Libraries (SUL) has assumed permanent stewardship of the California Historical Society Collection (CHS), a trove of over 600,000 items spanning the history of California and the West since the 18th century.
The collection, acquired in collaboration with the Bill Lane Center for the American West, will become known as the California Historical Society Collection at Stanford and will be made available to the public and academic community in the coming years.
The materials have all been moved to Stanford, following the signing of a transfer agreement last June.
The collection will complement Stanford's existing archival materials on California and the American West and will be a valuable resource for scholars, students, and the general public studying the region's past, said Michael A. Keller, the Ida M. Green University Librarian at SUL.
"From its origins, the California Historical Society has focused on collecting and preserving the history of the West and has amassed a remarkably rich and diverse archive over the years," Keller said. "Its collections of books, journals, letters and postcards, maps, photographs, newspapers, and more form an enormous, relatively untapped resource for historical research, for teaching, and for understanding the history of California and the western region."
Items from the CHS Collection date back to the early eighteenth century. Spanning roughly 16,000 linear feet, the CHS Collection is renowned for its rare and diverse range of materials, making it one of the most significant collections of California state and local history.
Some items of historic importance include original material from significant events such as the Gold Rush, statehood, and the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire. It also features unique collections, including the records of the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, which date back to the early 1900s.
Stanford historian Gordon H. Chang, the Olive H. Palmer Professor in Humanities, knows well the importance of having access to California's rich history. "The Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project at Stanford devoted considerable attention to mining the CHS archive and found material never used by previous railroad scholars," said Chang. His research shows the depth of the CHS Collection and its synergy to SUL's own holdings on the history of Asian Americans, African Americans, and Mexican Americans with the Chinese American Citizens Alliance Papers, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund records, and the Huey P. Newton/Black Panther Party Papers.
Another Stanford scholar that has turned to the CHS Collection for his own research is Richard White, the Margaret Byrne Professor of American History, Emeritus at Stanford and author of Railroaded and California Exposures.
"For me the CHS Collection is one of the most valuable, and underutilized collections in California," said White. "It will augment SUL's holdings in the American West, helping to fill in gaps from the nineteenth and early twentieth-century California. This is an incredibly rare opportunity to bring an archive of this significance to Stanford."
David M. Kennedy, the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History, Emeritus at Stanford and founding Faculty Director of the Lane Center, said that the acquisition of this collection "will make Stanford the premier place for historical research about California and the broader North American West."
The CHS Board considered several leading research and public institutions in California and ultimately decided that SUL was the best choice to manage and grow the CHS Collection. "SUL brings a strong infrastructure that spans a network of twenty libraries across Stanford's campus and an expansive team with knowledge and expertise in collections development, digitization and preservation, and technologies development," said CHS Interim CEO Jen Whitley. "Through SUL's partnership with the Bill Lane Center for the American West, the CHS Collection will continue to increase our understanding of California and the Western region.
Richard Saller, Stanford's twelfth President and the Kleinheinz Family Professor of European Studies, said the addition of the collection supports the university's core mission of research and education. "At a time when historical perspective is so critical, the California Historical Society Collection will provide a treasure trove of information about long-term trajectories over the past two centuries."
Read full Stanford University Libraries press release.
Contact: chscollection@stanford.edu
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Stanford University Libraries assume stewardship of the California Historical Society Collection
Stanford University Libraries assume stewardship of the California Historical Society Collection
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 31, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- P&R Measurement is showcasing its latest innovations at DesignCon 2025 in Santa Clara, California, one of the industry's premier events for high-speed communications and system design from January 29 to 30. During this prestigious gathering, P&R Measurement is presenting a portfolio of AI-enhanced industrial solutions designed to meet the dynamic needs of today's flexible manufacturing. Highlighting the company's commitment to innovation, P&R Measurement also unveiled its industrial AI Agent, PRIME, aligning with the evolving trends in industrial production.
As AI technology is revolutionizing productivity, traditional manufacturing sectors are compelled to innovate to remain competitive. P&R Measurement is maintaining a competitive edge in this transformation with AI-empowered solutions that optimize flexible manufacturing systems, streamline manufacturing integration, and enhance human-machine collaboration. These advancements meet the growing demand for personalized, efficient manufacturing while driving the modernization of legacy industries.
Embracing the Age of AI Agents: PRIME Empowering Industrial Manufacturing
As we close out a transformative year in 2024, AI Agents—capable of perceiving their environment, understanding contexts, making decisions, and taking autonomous actions—are revolutionizing industries and unlocking vast potential. Aligning with its vision of "Empowering everyone to be an innovator," P&R Measurement is actively embracing the shift toward smarter manufacturing with PRIME, an industrial AI Agent designed to upgrade testing, measurement, and manufacturing with intelligence and automation.
PRIME bridges the digital and physical worlds, transforming natural language commands into precise control of industrial equipment and systems. AI advancements have reduced the cost and complexity of deploying sophisticated technologies, allowing more people, particularly non-specialists, to use engineering solutions in real-world applications, as noted by Lei Wang, the Chairman of the company.
Looking ahead, P&R Measurement engineers foresee that as PRIME evolves, it will integrate diverse industrial platforms and manage large-scale workflows, boosting efficiency and promoting more sustainable manufacturing by reducing energy consumption. The company firmly believes that through AI integration and cross-industry collaboration, PRIME will catalyze transformative change in both industrial manufacturing and service sector. This strategic approach will not only create exceptional value for customers but also strengthen business's competitiveness in an ever-evolving market.
Flexible Manufacturing Takes the Spotlight: P&R Measurement Advancing Smart Manufacturing Innovation
P&R Measurement is at the forefront of emerging industry trends, driving transformation across vertical markets. In response to rapid advancements in consumer electronics, home appliances, and automotive sectors, the company has leveraged its AI expertise to deliver high-performance solutions. P&R Measurement's flexible manufacturing systems, including innovative automated testing and assembly lines, offer precision and reliability, making them essential tools for modern manufacturers.
At DesignCon 2025, P&R Measurement also introduces its Smart Lab—a platform that integrates advanced measurement, automation, digitalization, and AI-supported intelligence. Designed to accelerate product development, the Smart Lab provides R&D teams with an efficient, precise, and energy-saving testing environment. With the support of this platform, the company assisted a leading home appliance brand in optimizing resource, process, and data management. The client's high-energy labs achieved an over 30% reduction in energy consumption, driving substantial R&D cost savings and boosting overall innovation efficiency.
Also featured at the exhibition were P&R Measurement's A²S Lab, the sensory testing solutions and the A²TP, the flexible testing platform, designed to help customers swiftly complete complex validation tasks in the product development cycle. These solutions are key to enhancing product reliability and user experience. Partnering with a global consumer electronics leader, P&R Measurement delivered automated testing for circuit board functionality and performance in highly integrated electronic products. By embedding precise temperature control, modular instruments, advanced algorithms, and high-precision design, the company achieved outstanding stability, minimized re-test rates, and ensured accurate automation in circuit board testing.
Pioneering Global Change: P&R Measurement's Strategic Vision for a Diverse Future
P&R Measurement is advancing its vision through the GD3 (Global Distributed Design and Delivery) strategy. Beyond enhancing its technological capabilities, the company is attracting top-tier talent from a wide range of fields and fostering a culture of innovation. By dedicating its efforts to upgrading intelligent manufacturing systems, P&R Measurement is driving advancements while maintaining its strong customer-centric focus.
Lei outlined P&R Measurement's vision for the future: "We are committed to integrating state-of-the-art technologies to achieve three key goals: improving system efficiency and intelligence by addressing challenges in industrial measurement and automation, advancing flexible manufacturing to reduce CTM (Customer to Manufacturer) costs, and democratizing engineering capabilities by bridging the gap between natural and engineering languages to drive societal progress."
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
P&R Measurement's Industrial AI Agent at DesignCon 2025: Staying Ahead of the Intelligent Manufacturing Trend