CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARY FOUNDATION Number 131 2021 CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARY FOUNDATION Number 131 2021 EDITOR Gary F. Kurutz EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Brittneydawn Cook Gene Kennedy COPY EDITOR M. Patricia Morris 2 Life in the California Capitol under Covid-19: A Legislative Staff Perspective BOARD OF DIRECTORS By Brian Ebbert and Brandon Seto Kenneth B. Noack, Jr. President 5 Philip Keeney’s California Plan for Japanese Libraries Marilyn Snider Vice-President By Michael Buckland Mike Ueltzen Treasurer 10 The Floating World of Edo Japan Jeff Volberg By Diana Kohnke Secretary 20 Sutro Library Goes Virtual: Engaging the Public during a Pandemic Greg Lucas State Librarian of California By Dvorah Lewis Phillip L. Isenberg Thomas W. Stallard FOUNDATION NOTES Phyllis Smith Susan Glass Katherine Weedman-Cox Mona Bahraini 23 News from Foundation Executive Director Brittneydawn Cook 24 Foundation is Gifted Two Rare California Pioneer Aviation Publications Brittneydawn Cook Gene Kennedy By Gary F. Kurutz Executive Director Foundation Administrator 28 Promoting Vertical Travel in 1920s: Gift from Anonymous Donor Shelley Ford Bookkeeper By Gary F. Kurutz The California State Library Foundation Bulletin is published when we are able. © 2004-2021. Opinions of the authors are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of their institu- tions, the California State Library or the Foundation. Front Cover: An example of one of the striking ukiyo-e (woodblock prints) found in the Sutro Library collection. See “The Floating World of Edo Japan” by Diana Kohnke, The Bulletin is included as a membership benefit to Foundation members. Membership rates are: pp. 10–19. Back Cover: The Lowe Planet Airship flying over Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley. Associate: $40–$99 See pp. 24–25. Contributor: $100–$249 Sponsor: $250–$499 Illustrations and Photo Credits: Front cover: Sutro Library; pp. 2–4, California Patron: $500–$999 State Assembly; pp. 6–9, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley; Institutional: $500 pp. 10–19, Sutro Library; pp. 20–22, Dvorah Lewis, Sutro Library; pp. 23–31 and Corporate: $750 rear cover, California History Section. Lifetime Member: $1,000 Pioneer: $5,000 Design: Angela Tannehill-Caldwell | www.angelacaldwell.art Subscription to Libraries: $30/year California State Library Foundation 1225 8th Street, Suite 345, Sacramento, CA 95814 tel: 916.447.6331 | web: www.cslfdn.org | email: [email protected] BULLETIN 131 1 2 CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARY FOUNDATION Above: The Communications and Conveyance Committee’s Chair, Miguel Santiago, watching a witness video during the May 5th, 2020 Assembly meeting. Life in the California Capitol under Covid-19 A Legislative Staff Perspective By Brian Ebbert and Brandon Seto he historic California State Capitol and largely empty structure, seemingly all State Capitol staff were instructed to stay in Sacramento is typically a dynamic locked in suspended animation while leg- at home pursuant to public health orders. building bustling with lawmakers, islative leadership and staff hastened to fig- Both houses immediately went into an Tgovernment staffers, lobbyists, report- ure out a way to safely reopen the legislative extended recess. In the meantime, each ers, protestors, tourists, and thousands branch of the nation’s most populous state. house of the Legislature quickly deployed of schoolchildren. Since 1869, this mag- This article will describe how the Califor- a small team of leadership and support nificent structure has been the center of nia Capitol was impacted, and specifically, staff to find solutions to enable Califor- California government and is considered how the State Assembly adjusted its prac- nia’s Legislature to continue functioning the “People’s House;” so much so, that the tices to adapt to life under Covid-19. beautifully restored 19th-century domed California’s legislative branch is the structure draws over one million visitors smallest branch of state government, with Brian Ebbert, M.A., R.P., is the Floor Director annually. However, in March 2020, this roughly 2,500 employees, most of whom for Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and lively and vibrant symbol of democracy work in the Capitol building. When the Brandon Seto, Ph.D. is the Senior Floor Con- transformed overnight into a cavernous pandemic hit California in March 2020, sultant for Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon BULLETIN 131 3 cols for the Capitol. Essential Assembly staff were identified for each hearing by the Speaker’s Office in conjunction with the Assembly Rules Committee. Eventually, legislators and designated staff received Covid-19 self-test kits and were required to test themselves weekly at home before com- ing to the Capitol building each Monday. In contrast, the vast majority of Senate and Assembly staff worked from home during the pandemic. To adapt to this new way of working, the Assembly loaned computer equipment to staff to facilitate the continua- tion of their duties. Legislators, staff, stake- holders, experts, and advocates now had to conduct most meetings via teleconfer- ence or videoconference. Official legislative proceedings, floor sessions, and committee hearings, continue to be held in the Capi- tol, with lawmakers physically present and some participants joining either by phone or videoconference. For the public and the lobbying corps, as a coequal branch of government. On the whose physical presence was not absolutely attending legislative hearings transformed Assembly side of the Capitol Building, a necessary for legislative operations. Both significantly. The public was encouraged small “strike team” of staff came together statehouse restaurants and the Capitol gift to watch livestreams of Assembly and Sen- to tackle the logistical challenges of this shop were closed until further notice and ate proceedings on the internet rather than goal. The team members were primarily all public tours were canceled. A year later, attend in person. All hearing rooms, includ- from the Speaker’s Office, Rules Commit- many of these mainstays had yet to reopen. ing the legislative chambers, were measured tee, Sergeants at Arms, and Legislative Rooms and offices were “deep cleaned” and for physical distancing. Until recently, a Counsel. These staff worked around the intensive disinfecting protocols instituted. reduced number of seats in hearing rooms clock to develop protocols that transformed Hand sanitizer, physical distancing signs, were open to the public, and entrances were the legislative process. Within weeks, both and warning signs were placed throughout closed once a hearing room’s physically dis- houses developed new procedures for the the historic structure. Disposable micro- tanced capacity was reached. Few members public, legislators, staff, lobbyists, and phone covers and acrylic plastic shields of the public chose to attend in person. The expert witnesses to participate in proceed- were deployed in hearing rooms. largest room in the Capitol is the Assembly ings. Each house was able to restart leg- When Covid-era legislative hearings Chamber, which typically seats 80 Assem- islative committee hearings by late April recommenced in late April 2020, the bly Members, dozens of staff, and well over 2020 and quickly began tackling the public north Capitol entrance was opened to the 100 guests and observers. Under physical health crisis and its ramifications. public and to expert witnesses, while the distancing guidelines, the total number of south entrance was open only to essen- members, staff, and the public that can be A New Era: Capacity tial Capitol workers. Any staff, public, or accommodated was reduced to less than Limits, Covid-19 Testing, press entering the Capitol would now have 100. With adequately distanced space for Working from Home their temperatures taken at the entrance only 61 Assembly Members, some Mem- The first step toward reimagining and and asked health-screening questions. bers stayed in their offices and then rotated restarting the legislative process was Although some minor differences may into the chamber to add-on to votes prior to to make the building safe from a public exist between the two houses relating to adjournment. The largest committee hear- health standpoint. The Capitol was imme- their operations, the Assembly and Senate ing room in the Capitol, room 4202, nor- diately closed to the public and to all staff agreed upon general-public access proto- mally seats 25 members at the dais, and up 4 CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARY FOUNDATION to 228 people in the audience. Because of transmit their live testimony to hearing course of various protests held during the physical distancing, it only accommodated rooms in Sacramento. Lastly, both houses pandemic. During one particularly intense 11 members on the dais and 28 in the audi- utilized an elaborate phone-in testimony lockdown, police roadblocks encircled the ence. As a result, many hearings were moved system that put public participation within streets around the Capitol complex for a day, to the more expansive Assembly Chamber to reach of nearly all Californians, regardless closing all road access to the public. Even allow for safe physical distancing. of whether or not they had a stable internet authorized Capitol staff had to show identi- connection. The public notices of hearings fication at multiple checkpoints to access the Technology Transforms included viewer call-in information so that building. The occasional unrest extended Legislative Process the public may offer their testimony via beyond