LibGuides: Chicanx Latinx Heritage Month: Archival Material @ Cal State LA Special Collections

Manuscripts

Central American Solidarity L.A Network
This collection consists of publications and materials related to central American Solidarity Networks in Los Angeles from the late- 1970s to the mid-1990s, which were housed in the Latin American Studies center of Cal State LA.
Innercity Struggle
InnerCity Struggle (ICS) works with youth and community residents to promote safe, healthy and non-violent communities in the Eastside of Los Angeles. ICS began as a project of Proyecto Pastoral at Dolores Mission and launched as its own independent community organization in 1994. The collection contains a wide variety of ICS publications, youth program materials, student writings and photographs, and newspaper clippings. The collection also includes ephemera with items such as posters, buttons, t-shirt, and a commemorative ICS anniversary pocket watch.
Mexican American Baseball
Mexican-American Baseball in Los Angeles: From the Barrios to the Big Leagues was a collaborative event developed by the Baseball Reliquary, a Pasadena-based nonprofit organization, and the Cal State LA, John F. Kennedy Memorial Library. The project focused on the historic role that baseball played within the Mexican-American communities of Los Angeles County and the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. The collection consists of materials related to the project's exhibition (March 26-June 9, 2006) and opening reception on April 9, 2005. The exhibition and the project moved to CSU, San Bernardino in 2008 and was renamed, The Latino Baseball History Project: The Southern California Experience.
Salvadoran Refugees Audio Cassette Collection
Ten hours of songs and poems by Salvadoran refugees give testimony to their violent past, their present life in a refugee camp, and their strong will to survive.
The Central American Memoria Histórica Archive
The Central American Memoria Histórica Archive (CAMHA) at Cal State LA is a multi-year visual ethnic history research project to digitize and archive the visual and material culture of Central American activists, leaders, community groups, artists, and collectives in Los Angeles. The project supports the visual preservation of Central American community history and civic participation in Los Angeles as well as documents the transnational social, cultural and political life of Central American communities from the 1950s to the present.
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To Access this Collection please contact Special Collections staff:
specialcollections@calstatela.edu.

Rare Books & Unique Books

The Mesoamerica and Colonial Mexico
The Mesoamerica and Colonial Mexico rare books collection is comprised of three collections: Ruwet, Glass, and Nicholson. The collection is divided into three large groups: The Mesoamerican, the Colonial, and the Independent periods that form the sequence of the history of Mexico from the 16th to the 20th century.
Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA
Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA is a far-reaching and ambitious exploration of Latin American and Latino art in dialogue with Los Angeles. Led by the Getty, Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA is the latest collaborative effort from arts institutions across Southern California.

University Archives

The Cal State LA Chicano/a Poster Collection
The materials in this collection were created from 1968-1978. The entire collection consists of posters. The posters announce events presented by the Chicano Studies Department at California State University, Los Angeles. The events include Feria De La Raza, United Mexican-American Students Present Community Day on Campus and a series of posters announcing the message, “Conoce Tu Herencia Cultural.”
Cal State LA Cross Cultural Center Records
The Cross Cultural Centers initially founded in 1997 at Cal State LA provided students with an inclusive and friendly space that hosted a variety of cultural, political and academic events, as well as provided resources and other supports to students. Additionally the Cross Cultural Centers collaborate to annually host cultural graduations that reflect cultures of graduating seniors, Raza Grad, Black Grad and Asian Pacific Islander and Middle Eastern Graduation. The Cross Cultural Centers were made of four student resource centers, the Asian Pacific Islander Student Resource Center, the Chicana/o Latina/o Students Resource Center, Pan African Student Resource Center and the Gender & Sexuality Resource Center.
Cal State LA Union Collection
This collection documents many of the student-run events hosted by various Cal State LA Student Union organizations that took place both on and off campus between 1995 and 2018.

Collection Access

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.
Chat Live with an Archivist/Librarian

If you are having trouble locating primary sources, ask an archivist or librarian by using our LibChat function. We are available to answer your questions from Monday - Friday, 10:00am - 5:00pm.
Request a Research Consultation

For in-depth research help, schedule a Research Consultation for one-on-one or small group assistance with a Special Collections Librarian through zoom.

Rights and Permissions

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.