Archival materials are stored in secure closed storage and retrieved for researchers, one box or item at a time, to view in a designated area. Every archive will have their own procedures, hours, and guidelines for using archival materials. Conducting research in an archive requires advanced planning and preparation. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic our reading room is closed. However, we are providing remote access to our collections.

Special Collections and Archives staff are providing student scan requests on demand. If you need materials from our collections for your course assignments we can scan them for you and send the files electronically. 

• Due to access restrictions, your request may take up to a week or more. Be prepared to request materials in advance.
• When requesting materials for scanning be aware of how many items you are requesting. Our limit of scans is 25 per request.
• Expect to spend more than a couple of hours conducting archival research. Make sure you give yourself enough time to pursue your research.

SCA materials are available for research by students, staff, and faculty, as well as the general public. We highly encourage scheduling a research appointment 1-week in advance, but walk-ins may be accommodated depending on the materials requested. There are currently three ways to search for SCA materials:

OneSearch

You can use the library search system - OneSearch to find Special Collections and archival materials.

Use a Keyword search then limit your search in the Refine my Results section located on the right-hand side of the webpage. 

Scroll down to Location and select Special Collections.

In the list of results, you will notice the format type of materials located in SCA such as Books and Archival Materials. Archival materials refer to manuscript items, which include unpublished materials suck as letters, photographs, scrapbooks, slides, textiles, ephemera, etc.

Online Archive of California (OAC)

OAC is a database that makes primary source materials accessible such as manuscripts, photographs, and works held in libraries, museums, archives, and other institutions across California. 

Cal State LA Digital Repository 

The digital archive collects and provides access to the research and resources for students, faculty, and staff of the Cal State LA Community.

Finding aids are guides to archival collections. Similar to a record of a book on OneSearch you will find the title, date, and description of the collection in a finding aid. However, because archival collections often contain different types of materials finding aids helps guide you through the collection and what it contains. They often contain historical/biographical note about the creator, scope, and content note about what is in the collection, and a container list of the materials in the collection. 

Breakdown of a Finding Aid

• Title Page: The first page of the finding aid you will find the title, creator, dates, extent, location, arrangement, and copyright information. 
• Historical/Biographical Note: Concise essay or chronology that places the materials in context by providing information about their creator(s). It includes significant information about the life of an individual or family or the administrative history of the collection. 
• Scope and Content Note: A statement summarizing the range and topical coverage of the described materials, often mentioning the form and arrangement of the materials and naming significant organizations, individuals, events, places, and subjects represented. The purpose of the scope and content note is to assist readers in evaluating the potential relevance of the materials to their research. 
• Series Description: Series and subseries describe the arrangement of the collection. Think of them as chapters in a book or categories; each subseries will reflect the title/topic of the Series and the Series-level description will include each subseries.
• Container List: The box and folder listing/inventories of the actual materials in the collection. The box and folder listing records the tiles of each series and subseries in the collection, and the titles of each folder found within each physical box of the collection. 

1. Read any material that accompanies the primary source. If you have found a primary source in an archive or online, there may be a summary of it or the collection it comes from available.
2. Summarize as you read the primary source. Write down any keywords words or phrases. If there are words or phrases you do not understand look them up on Google.
3. If the primary source leads you to ask more questions about it make sure to write them down. Think about the additional information you need to deepen your understanding of the source.
4. Make connections with what you already know to help put the primary source into historical context.
5. Based on the text in the primary source what can you infer? Write down your thoughts and conclusions.
6. Observe the physical attributes of the source. What can you learn from the format of the primary source? What does this tell you about it?
7. Check to see if the primary source has a date and creator/author. 
8. Does the primary source have an intended audience? Based on the audience of the primary source what conclusions can you draw about it? 

In most cases, Cal State LA only owns the physical item/collection, not literary property or copyright. Therefore, as the researcher, it is your responsibility to seek the copyright status of an item if you wish to use it for publication. Items/collections that are owned by Cal State LA, researchers must make a request for permission and reproduction from SCA. However, if you are simply using the item for your own personal research there is no need to ask for permission.