University of Southern California Special Collections and Area Studies (USC)

Overview

Special Collections at the University of Southern California (USC) Libraries is a non-circulating research library housing rare books, manuscripts, archives, historic photographs, and audiovisual materials. It is located on the second floor of the Doheny Memorial Library on USC's University Park campus in Los Angeles, California. Special Collections holds more than 200,000 volumes, over 1,000 archival collections, and more than 2 million photographs.

History and Founding

Special Collections was first organized in 1963 in Doheny Memorial Library, Room 209. It consolidated rare book and manuscript collections previously scattered throughout the library, including an American Literature Collection, a Cinema collection, map and poster holdings, and an oral history collection. The USC University Archives, which is part of Special Collections, was begun in 1938 by reference librarian Myrtle G. Hart. USC's first gift of rare books dates to 1911, making it the earliest institutional rare book collection in Los Angeles. In 2000, the Specialized Libraries & Archival Collections (SLAC) unit was formed, and in 2007 it was reorganized as Special Collections. In 2010, the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives—the largest collection of LGBTQ+ materials in the world—became part of USC Libraries.

Collections and Holdings

Special Collections' primary collecting areas include:

• Southern California Regional History: The Regional History Collection, created in 1977, provides primary materials for the study of Los Angeles and its environs

• Lion Feuchtwanger and European Exiles: The Feuchtwanger Memorial Library contains the 32,000-volume personal library and archives of the German-Jewish exile writer, plus manuscript collections for Heinrich Mann, Hanns Eisler, and Ludwig Marcuse

• American Literature: A major collection dating to 1949, including poetry manuscripts and small press books

• Holocaust and Genocide Studies: Shoah Foundation video oral history archive

• Natural History: The Hancock Natural History Collection (approximately 78,000 volumes, 1525–1944)

• USC History: University Archives including administrative records, student newspapers and yearbooks, faculty papers, and photographs

• Warner Bros. Archives: The largest single studio film collection in the world, covering Warner Bros. productions from 1918 to 1968, donated in 1977

• Lewis Carroll and Alice in Wonderland; Iberian and Latin American Studies

Relevance to Journalism and Media Research

USC Special Collections holds extensive resources for media history research: the Warner Bros. Archives documents a century of Hollywood film production; the Regional History Collection contains journalism-related ephemera and newspapers; and the USC University Archives holds runs of student newspapers including the Daily Trojan. The Feuchtwanger collection also contains press clippings and correspondence relevant to the history of exile journalism and anti-Nazi press during World War II.

Access and Usage

Special Collections is open to USC affiliates and non-USC researchers by appointment. A valid photo ID is required. Researchers must follow established rules for handling archival materials. Reproduction services are available. The department is located in Doheny Memorial Library, Room 209.