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Special Collections & Archives

Learn more about our collections of manuscripts, rare books, archives, photographs, and other unique materials. 

Photography

The photography collection compMother and Children by Ruth-Marion Baruch, from A Photographic Essay on The Black Panthersrises over half a million items and includes works by significant contemporary photographers working in both the documentary and fine art traditions. The bulk of the collection dates from the 1960s to the late twentieth century and has a particular focus on California photographers, especially those of the West Coast school and Group f/64. Significant collections include those of Ruth-Marion Baruch and Pirkle Jones, Edward Weston and Branson DeCou. Subject strengths include environmental photography, the geographic regions of California and Mexico, and the documentation of social change.

Additionally, Special Collections has strong holdings of local historic photographs—from aerial views of the Northern California Coastline to depictions of the city of Santa Cruz at the turn of the century and the contemporary photography of local photographic journalist Shmuel Thaler.

 

Artists' Books & Fine Presses

Our Foolscap Press's Herakles and the Eurystheusian Twelve-Step Programartists' books collection encompasses all aspects of the genre dating from the 1960s to the present from traditional published works to altered, sculptural, painted, and unique books that challenge the form of the codex. The collection includes works created by local and California artists; works that engage contemporary American politics and social movements; works produced in Latin American countries or by Latina/o artists; and works complementing additional strategic collection areas, including but not limited to science and technology and photography. 

The fine press collection consists of fine, private press, and limited edition books, as well as selected reference works about printers, publishers, and the book arts. UCSC has a strong tradition of contributing to the Fine Press community and holds an exhaustive collection of the works of Lime Kiln Press. The collection is particularly strong in works by California printers and publishers.

 

Music

Golden Road to Unlimited Devotion, Grateful Dead

Collections documenting the history of experimental music, composition, and American improvisational and popular music held in Special Collections & Archives include the papers of musicians and composers -- including Lou Harrison and the Grateful Dead -- as well as records of organizations that have presented and documented experimental music -- including Other Minds and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music.

 

 

Images, from top:
Mother & Children, #159 from A Photographic Essay on The Black Panthers, by Ruth-Marion Baruch. © Regents of the University of California. Courtesy Special Collections, University Library, University of California Santa Cruz. Ruth-Marion Baruch and Pirkle Jones Photographs and Papers.
Herakles and the Eurystheusian Twelve-Step Program. Lawrence G. Van Velzer and Peggy Gotthold, Foolscap Press, creators. 
Golden Road to Unlimited Devotion: Grateful Dead Fan Club promotional poster. Grateful Dead Records, Series 8: Posters.

 

Santa Cruz County History

UPhyllis Cole, Virginia Horner, Joe Queener at Cowell Beach, c.1943CSC's collections document the history of Santa Cruz County from the mission period through the present, in over 2,000 books and pamphlets and more than 100 historical and contemporary archival and manuscript collections. Materials include family papers, letters, oral history interviews, historic maps, postcards, newspapers, government documents, and an enormous collection of local ephemera (such as flyers and brochures). 

Additionally, Special Collections has strong holdings of local historic photographs—from aerial views of the Northern California Coastline to depictions of the city of Santa Cruz at the turn of the century and the contemporary photography of local photographic journalist Shmuel Thaler.

 

Counter Culture History

The Counter Culture collections at UCSC center on the documentation of various counter culture and larger social movements as evidenced in the United States from the 1960s on. Highlights include the papers of pacifist Kenneth Patchen, the records of the band The Grateful Dead, the papers of feminist scholar Bettina Aptheker, the work of gonzo-journalist Hunter S. Thompson, and significant holdings within University Archives documenting the rise of the Environmental Movement. Kenneth Patchen's Declaration of PEACE my Country the WorldThese and other collections recognize the key role that the UCSC community has played in the rise of once “fringe” social movements, including feminism, queer-rights, and environmentalism.

 

Literary Archives

Special Collections holds the literary archives of science fiction writer Robert Heinlein, poets Kenneth Patchen and Morton Marcus, and author Colin Fletcher.

 

Rare Books

Our collection of early European imprints includes a distinguished collection of 16th Century Italian humanist imprints donated by Professors Hayden White and Margaret Brose. Other significant concentrations of early printed books include works in the history of astronomy, from the Library at Lick Observatory, a selection of illustrated botanicals, as well as a variety of literary works, including serial novels by Charles Dickens.

 

images, from top:
Phyllis Cole, Virginia Horner, Joe Queener at Cowell Beach. Unknown photographer. Courtesy Special Collections & Archives, University Library, University of California Santa Cruz. Harry Mayo Surfing Photography Collection.
Declaration of Peace, My Country the World by Kenneth Patchen. © Regents of the University of California. Courtesy Special Collections, University Library, University of California Santa Cruz. Kenneth Patchen Papers. 

Lick Observatory Archives

Lick Observatory Records: Great Dome, view during constructionSpecial Collections hosts the Lick Observatory Records, as well as the papers of several astronomers associated with the Observatory. These collections form the Archives of Lick Observatory, which includes records from about 1870 to the mid-twentieth century describing the founding construction and operation of the observatory and documenting all aspects of the early astronomical ambitions and achievements of its founders. Learn more about the Lick Observatory Records and related astronomy collections

 

Papers of UCSC Science Faculty

Special Collections maintains the papers of many prominent UCSC science faculty, including:

  • Kenneth S. Norris, professor of Natural History
  • Botanists Jean H. Langenheim and Kenneth V. Thimann
  • Astronomer Sandra Faber

 

Image: Great Dome, View During Construction. © Regents of the University of California. Courtesy Special Collections, University Library, University of California Santa Cruz. Lick Observatory Records.

University Archives

Septima Poinsette Clark, educator and civil rights activist, with UCSC students, 1972The University Archives documents the history of UC Santa Cruz, by collecting inactive administrative records of enduring historical value (including those documenting the University's decision making process, programs, and the cultural history of the campus) and University publications that provide documentation of the University’s administrative history.

In addition to printed and electronic materials and administrative records, University Archives includes holdings in other formats: pictorial, maps, audiovisual, and memorabilia. The formal collection dates from the planning stages of the University beginning in 1959.

Learn more about the University Archives.

 

 

Image: Septima Poinsette Clark, educator and civil rights activist, with students, 1972. © Regents of the University of California. Courtesy Special Collections, University Library, University of California Santa Cruz. UCSC Photography Services Photographs.