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Peek in the Stacks: ephemera

Gloria Molina

American politician and community activist Gloria Molina (1948- 2023) was born in the Los Angeles suburb of Montebello. Gloria went on to serve as a trailblazing politician at both the state and local levels. Special Collection & Archives holds many archival resources that highlight the important work of Gloria Molina. The Frank del Olmo Collection holds a number of Molina’s political campaign fliers. The Brad Pye Jr. Collection and Juana Beatriz Gutiérrez Mothers of East Los Angeles Collection both include coorespondence with Molina. Plus, Molina can also be found in the materials in both the Mary Santoli Pardo Collection and the Tom Hayden Belmont Learning Complex Investigation Collection.

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HIV & AIDS, the early years in the United States

In 1981 the first case of HIV was reported in the United States. HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), which left untreated can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), was still a mysterious virus at the time where friends, family, and loved ones were lost in a short time span. Special Collections & Archives holds many documents and resources on the topic. With these materials we are able to able to get a glimpse into the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States and its territories.

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"Passport to Peace": European Travel After World War II

The Nathalie Furst Gittelman Travel Ephemera Collection contains ephemera documenting her experience flying to Europe in 1949 during her time as a college student at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. World War II ended only four years earlier, leaving many scars on the landscape and the people that lived through the war. The official travel guides and brochures, many aimed at English-speaking audiences, provide insight into the ways travel associations and government bureaus attempted to regain travelers' trust and recreational interest in Europe after a devastating period of loss.

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Historic Strikes Across Los Angeles

The Urban Archives, part of Special Collections & Archives, collects materials that document the history of Los Angeles, and includes the records of many labor unions, guilds, and affiliated labor organizations that have operated within Los Angeles since the early 20th century. Many of these collections include records documenting labor strikes, or work stoppages ....

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A Servicemember’s Best Friend

A number of collections in the Old China Hands Archives document the lives of American military personnel serving abroad in the 20th century, primarily in China but also in other countries in Asia and the Pacific Islands. Alongside photographs of local sites and fellow servicemembers, dogs make fairly frequent cameos. 

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Allied Propaganda in the Lodge Collection

Major William J. Lodge served as a Statistical Officer in the VIII Fighter Command, 417th Night Fighter Squadron, of the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II. He kept copies of propaganda leaflets and newsletters dropped over Germany and occupied Europe during the last several months of World War II....

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What is this place?

As people move around the 2nd floor of the library and pass Special Collections and Archives, they sometimes pop in to ask, "What is this place?" Special Collections and Archives holds the library’s rare book and periodical collections, and a wide variety of manuscript collections and individual items. The next question often starts "So, what is your (pick an adjective) item or book?" Today for our blog, we have set out to answer a few of your most pressing questions...

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Early Childhood Educator Associations

The issues of childcare and early childhood education have been a hot topic in national conversations during the pandemic, but they are by no means new issues. In 1925, after several years of discussions and planning, a group of concerned nursery professionals founded the National Committee on Nursery Schools and held the first conference in 1926...

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