The Library's Garden Level (Lower Level) is currently closed due to storm flooding. More about garden-level closure. (Posted on: 03/08/2024 03:24pm)
This month marks the twentieth anniversary of National Poetry Month, established by the Academy of American Poets to raise awareness and appreciation for poetry, to celebrate and highlight the extraordinary legacy and cultural contribution of poets, and to encourage the reading of poetry beyond the classroom. Special Collections and Archives holds hundreds of books of poetry...
Musicals are a combination of theatre, music, and dance, and musicals have been a popular form of entertainment since the 19th century. Gilbert and Sullivan's musical theater productions were especially popular, and receiving more viewers than those that preceded them. Special Collections and Archives has ...
Members of the Portolá Expedition were the first Europeans to see the Los Angeles River, camping on its banks near what is now downtown Los Angeles in the summer of 1769. Franciscan missionary and diarist for the expedition, Fray Juan Crespi wrote, "...we entered a very spacious valley, well grown with cottonwoods and alders....
Africans forcibly transported to the Americas, removed from their homes, families, and cultures utilized various forms of passive and active resistance. These men, women, and children were forced to take new names and create new families, they were bred, bought, and sold, and active resistance was immediately and harshly punished. While physically forced into submission, slaves as a group were...
In late 1969, almost six months after the Stonewall Riots occurred in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, the Gay Activists Alliance was founded in New York City. The group included the Black Lesbian Caucus, which later renamed itself Salsa Soul Sisters, Third World Wimmin Inc., credited as the oldest Black lesbian organization in the United States and known today as African ...
Many are unaware that the campus unrest of the mid-1960s and early 1970s left a lasting impression on the campus of San Fernando Valley State College (now CSUN). Special Collections is home to several books and archival collections that discuss this discord, including two books representing different sides of what is known on campus as...
Children's literature first appeared as a genre distinct from other kinds of literature in the 18th century, as the concept of "childhood" emerged in western society. Early works for children often included moral or religious messages, both to entertain child readers and educate them about commonly-held values and appropriate behavior...
Most of the earliest photographs were not printed on paper, but on sheets of metal or glass. These photographs capture extraordinary details, and give us a glimpse of life in the 19th century. In Special Collections and Archives there are many examples of photographic portraits that give an incredibly detailed view of fashion, personal adornment, and...
Los Angeles is a key shaped city spread cross a large swath of Southern California. Encompassing almost 470 square miles, the City has almost twice the landmass of Chicago. One of the more interesting aspects of the area is its multitude of smaller districts, towns, and neighborhoods that fan out from the city proper. Van Nuys is one of these towns....
While food and drink are strictly prohibited in Special Collections and Archives, the department houses a number of items sure to interest amateur foodies and trained gourmets alike. The Culinary Pamphlet Collection includes recipe booklets, advertising literature, and cooking equipment brochures, most of which were published in the United States between 1871 and 1965. Together these materials provide a glimpse of how...
