In 1962 the University of California purchased the Isaac Foot Library, which at that time was located in Foot's country house at Pencrebar, in Cornwall. Lawrence Clark Powell, Dean of the UCLA Library, had met Foot in 1945. After Foot died in 1960, a note was found in his effects suggesting that Powell be approached about the library. The matter was referred to the Library Council of the University, which handled the negotiations. The library was packed and shipped to the Santa Barbara campus, which then administered the distribution of materials to five UC campuses: Berkeley, Davis, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Santa Barbara.

The following information is drawn primarily from Sarah Foot's biography, My Grandfather Isaac Foot; The Times and The New York Times obituaries (December 14, 1960), and Theodore G. Grieder's, The Isaac Foot Library: A Report to the University:There were works on Cromwell and Milton, a fantastic collection of Bibles, 450 Greek Testaments alone, books on the Apostles especially Paul, and a group of religious books concerned with the Wesleyans, showing the strong influence Methodism played in his life. There were 2,000 books on the French Revolution and Napoleon Bonaparte, and several volumes covering the American Civil War, military campaigns and Abraham Lincoln, another hero of his. There were books covering the Italian Renaissance and the works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Thomas Carlyle and William Wordsworth.

Publication Rights Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

Restrictions None.