Institution Type: Archive, College/University, Library, Research Center/Institution

Web site: http://www.library.ucla.edu/libraries/special/scweb
Blog: http://blogs.library.ucla.edu/special/

Archives and Collections

Description:
The Department of Special Collections is the largest of the special collections units administered by the university. It acquires, organizes, preserves, and provides access to rare and unique materials in the humanities and social sciences. The holdings include three hundred thousand rare books, forty-two thousand linear feet of manuscript and archival collections, and four million photographic negatives and prints. In addition, the department’s nineteenth- and twentieth-century collections contain a variety of artifacts, audio recordings, videos, printed ephemera, oral history transcripts, phonograph records, postcards, and posters. The department acquires principally materials relating to the arts; California; area studies; ethnic studies; the history of printing, including atlases and early Italian books; and literature, including children’s books. Some of the department’s areas of specialization are Hebraica and Judaica; the history of philosophy; lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender studies; natural resources; photography; travel and exploration; and women. The more than twenty-four hundred collections in the Department of Special Collections are managed by the divisions of Rare Books; Manuscripts, Prints, Photographs, and Maps; Oral History; and University Archives. Each division’s holdings are selected or created to complement those of the other divisions. Researchers are welcome to discuss holdings at greater length with the staff.

Regions Covered: Southern California/Los AngelesCalifornianaWestern Americana

Type of Materials: Architectural Drawings, Audio Recordings, Books, Diaries/Journals/Personal Papers, Films/Videos/Moving Images, Institutional Publications, Manuscripts, Maps, Photographs, Rare Books, Scripts

Time Periods: Pre-1848, 1848-1899, 1900-1920, 1921-1949, 1950-1963, 1964-1980, 1981-Present

Languages: Chinese, English, Farsi, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Latin, Spanish

Sectors of the Population: Artistic Communities, Business, Clubs/Service/Social Organizations, Community Service Organizations, Education, Labor Unions, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Migrant Workers, Politics/Government, Professional, African Descent, Asian Descent, European Descent, Multiethnic, Lower to Middle Income, Middle to Upper Income, Highest Income

Management

Catalog System: Collection level cataloging records for archives, manuscript collections, and rare books, are available on local UCLA catalog and on OCLC (national online bibliographic database).
Digital Formats: Ishigo Collection
Repository/Depository: Yes
Loan To Others: Yes
Exhibited: Yes
Makes Purchases: Yes
Formalized Purchases: Yes
Outreach: Brochures/Flyers/Pamphlets, Directories, Internet