Allan was a member of the Photography and Media Program faculty at California Institute of the Arts[4] from 1985 until his death in 2013, and is well remembered as a generous and supportive teacher.
[5] As installed in the Manton Center Reading Room, The Allan Sekula Library reflects his organization of the books throughout the household spaces and studio.
Allan researched these topics by including novels, travel guides, language primers, and recipe books, as well as volumes related to political and social analysis.
The Sekula Library reflects the artist's prolific body of work – revolving around issues of labor and the aesthetic and economic traffic in images bound up with the processes of globalization.
The majority of the 15,000 volume collection is shelved in the Manton Research Center's reading room, with select titles accessible upon request in the Clark library.