Camarillo, Calif., November 09, 2015— Santi Visalli and his camera were there when the Beatles played on the “Ed Sullivan Show.” He was there when Martin Luther King spoke outside of the United Nations. He was there when President Richard Nixon sat down with the Soviet Union’s General Secretary, Leonid Breshnev, to sign the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., February 24, 2016) – The Delmar T. Oviatt Library at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), has selected author and long-time Valley marketing and public relations executive Martin M. Cooper to receive the first San Fernando Valley Award for Nonfiction. “The award was conceived by the Oviatt’s Friends of the Library to recognize important contributions to nonfiction writing about the San Fernando Valley, and to promote research and writing related to the region,” says Oviatt Library Dean Mark Stover. “Historical research and retrospective journalism are the keys to unlocking the mysteries of the past. With his book, Read All About it! The San Fernando Valley: 1946-1970, Martin Cooper has created a marvelous work that will bring back memories for some of us and open up new vistas for others.”

As part of Fresno State’s celebration of Cesar Chavez Day, the University’s Henry Madden Library is partnering with national oral history organization StoryCorps to record and preserve the stories of Latino families who have agricultural roots in the San Joaquin Valley.