Secrets, mysteries and twists of fate abound in the Museum of Ventura County’s upcoming exhibition History Unexpected: Surprises, Insights and Revelations from the Research Library Collection. Marking the first time many of the library’s rare materials have been shown, the exhibition runs September 18 through November 28, with a free public reception on Sunday, September 19 from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Visitors can discover the true inspiration for the monks’ faces that overlook the city of San Buenaventura from the facade of Ventura City Hall; look inside an office folder labeled “Sports” to see the romantic memento secreted there by famous author Erle Stanley Gardener; see the document that created Ventura County but didn’t resurface for 125 years; and learn about printing and politics in early California from a small devotional book that traveled here from Mexico in the 1830s.

The Museum’s award winning Research Library is a non-lending facility open free to the public as part of the county library system. It is open from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and can be accessed through the museum’s lobby. The Museum of Ventura County is located at 100 E. Main Street in downtown Ventura. Go to www.venturamuseum.org for more information or call (805) 653-0323 x 320.

Housing 150,000 documents, books, records, maps, and glass plate negatives related to the history of Ventura County and the surrounding area, the library has been honored with a number of prestigious grants from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services ( IMLS). A two-year project now underway and funded through IMLS’s “Museums for America” grant involves upgrading the library’s technical capacity as well as creating a digital catalog to make the collection accessible online to a wider audience. The most recent award is for restoration of their complete collection of Ventura County Directories.