{"id":218311,"date":"2026-03-13T16:37:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T16:37:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/218311\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T16:37:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T16:37:10","slug":"fresno-county-library-gets-rare-book-collection-including-muir-adams-steinbeck","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/218311\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno County Library Gets Rare Book Collection Including Muir, Adams, Steinbeck"},"content":{"rendered":"

What began as one California woman\u2019s love for reading more than a century ago turned into a massive donation to the Fresno County Library and a chance for other readers to appreciate rare literature.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the Fresno County Board of Supervisors will vote whether to formally recognize Fred McNairy \u2014 husband of former Fresno County Supervisor Judy Case McNairy \u2014 for his donation of rare books valued at $26,210.<\/p>\n

The books will become part of the Heritage Room at the library\u2019s Central Branch in downtown Fresno<\/a>, which is closed while undergoing a major renovation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

McNairy told GV Wire the book collection, which includes several first editions from authors such as John Steinbeck, Frank Norris, and photographer Ansel Adams, came from his grandmother, Pauline Nordstrom, who loved California history.<\/p>\n

\u201cA voracious reader her whole life, she loved California history. So, she just collected books,\u201d McNairy said.<\/p>\n

Kingsburg\u2019s Network of Well-Read Women<\/p>\n

With the need to move and downsize, McNairy spent most of 2025 cataloging the hundreds of titles his grandmother accumulated over the years. Born in Los Angeles near the end of the 19th century, Nordstrom eventually moved to Kingsburg, where she worked as an English teacher and librarian.<\/p>\n

When the effects of the Great Depression and her husband\u2019s alcohol use began to affect the family, McNairy said she turned to books, never paying much for the titles but eager to explore.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe had a circle of lady friends in Kingsburg. Kingsburg had a lot of very intelligent women who were housewives but also were educated and loved to read,\u201d McNairy said. \u201cShe\u2019d hear from word of mouth about different books. When it came out, you could buy it for a dollar.\u201d<\/p>\n

The catalogue lists an illustrated first edition of John Steinbeck\u2019s \u201cThe Red Pony,\u201d a first edition of Ansel Adams\u2019 \u201cYosemite Valley,\u201d 1912 printings of John Muir works, and several first editions by acclaimed author and journalist Frank Norris<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A majority of the titles focus on early California history.<\/p>\n

Library Will Decide How Best to Make Collection Available<\/p>\n

A spokesperson from the library thanked McNairy for the donation.<\/p>\n

Right now, the spokesperson said, some items are available for in-person research. Others that are \u201cparticularly rare\u201d may be preserved for display.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we curate the collection, we will determine the best way to make these materials available to the public while ensuring they are properly preserved for future generations,\u201d the spokesperson told GV Wire in an email.<\/p>\n

McNairy said having his grandmother\u2019s books at the library would honor her, especially given her work with the library.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe would be very happy the library houses her collection,\u201d McNairy said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What began as one California woman\u2019s love for reading more than a century ago turned into a massive…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":218312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-218311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218311","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218311"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218311\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218311"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218311"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218311"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}