Reopening of Heritage Library Celebrated

Editor's Note: Herbert Atienza is a paid spokesman for Loma Linda University.

More than 150 people came to help celebrate the grand re-opening of the Loma Linda University Heritage Research Center on Oct. 27.

Recent renovations have enlarged and improved the center, providing additional display and reading areas.

The primary purpose of the research center is to house and protect historical documents related to the College of Medical Evangelists and its successor, Loma Linda University as well as serve as one of the largest repositories of literature and documents from and about the Seventh-day Adventist Church, including those from church pioneer Ellen G. White.

Other important collections at the center include the Peterson Collection, acquired from the New York Public Library; the Lebowitz Collection, which has significantly increased the center’s holdings in the area of Adventist history; and the congressional papers of Jerry L. Pettis, the first Adventist to serve in the U.S. Congress, as well as the papers of his wife, Shirley N. Pettis, who took over his congressional seat following his untimely death in 1975.

The center, open to the public, is located on the west end of the Del E. Webb Memorial Library complex on the Loma Linda University campus.