William Andrews Clark Memorial Library Institutional Archive
Scope and Content
This collection consists of the institutional records of the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library and Center for 17th- and 18th-Century Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles, 1934-present. Items include materials related to library acquisitions and purchases, reference queries, fellowships, academic events and faculty, financial and administrative records, annual reports, clippings and publicity materials, building and grounds documentation, visitor records and publications. These records document the history of the Clark Library and Center as operating units at UCLA, and their roles in supporting scholarship and research both at the University and beyond.
The collection is organized into the following series:
- Series 1. Correspondence and Collection Management, 1934-present
- Series 2. Fellowships, Programs and Publications, 1945-present
- Series 3. Administrative Records, 1934-2009
- Series 4. Clark/Center Personnel, 1880-2010
- Series 5. Publicity and Clippings, 1947-present
- Series 6. Building and Grounds, 1945-1997
- Series 7. Miscellany, 1960-2010
Dates
- Creation: 1934-2010
Creator
- William Andrews Clark Memorial Library (Organization)
Access
Collection is open for research. Some materials are housed at an offsite storage location. Please contact Clark Library staff at least 2 weeks in advance if you are interested in consulting these materials.
Publication Rights
The Clark Library owns the property rights to its collections but does not hold the copyright to these materials and therefore cannot grant or deny permission to use them. Researchers are responsible for determining the copyright status of any materials they may wish to use, investigating the owner of the copyright, and obtaining permission for their intended publication or other use. In all cases, you must cite the Clark Library as the source with the following credit line: The William Andrews Clark Memorial Library, University of California, Los Angeles.
Historical Note
The William Andrews Clark Memorial Library is one of UCLA's major libraries for rare books and manuscripts, with particular strengths in English literature and history (1641-1800), Oscar Wilde, and fine printing. It is located thirteen miles east of campus (about a half-hour drive), in the West Adams District of Los Angeles north of USC. It is administered by UCLA's Center for Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Studies.
The library and its collections were founded by William Andrews Clark, Jr., and named after his father, who had built a mining fortune in Montana. The son, a prominent Los Angeles book collector and philanthropist, had a house at the corner of Adams Blvd. and Cimarron Street, and from 1924 to 1926 he constructed the present library on the same lot. Shortly afterwards he announced his intention to donate the collection, the buildings, and the property to UCLA. When he died in 1934 the deed passed to the University.
The Center, a member of the UCLA Humanities Consortium, provides a forum for the discussion of central issues in the field of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century studies. It organizes academic programs, bringing together scholars from the area, the nation, and the world, with the goal of encouraging research in the period from 1600 to 1800. It seeks to enlarge the Clark Library's holdings in this period in order to enhance research opportunities. The Center's publications program is dedicated to making the results of its conferences known to the larger scholarly public. It provides resident fellowships and scholarships to support research in early modern studies and other areas central to the Clark's collections. In addition it offers a variety of public programs, including chamber music concerts.
Biographical / Historical
Chronology
- 1934
- Death of William Andrews Clark, Jr. The library becomes part of UCLA.
- 1934-1943
- Cora Sanders, Librarian/Curator of Collections
- 1944-1966
- Lawrence Clark Powell, Director of Library
- 1966-1978
- William E. Conway, Head Librarian
- 1966-1981
- Robert G. Vosper, Director of Library
- 1978?-1993
- Thomas Wright, Head Librarian
- 1981-1985
- Norman Thrower, Director of Library
- 1985
- Formation of the Center for 17th- and 18th-century Studies
- 1985-1987
- Norman Thrower, Director of the Center and Clark
- 1987-1991
- John Brewer, Director of the Center and Clark
- 1991-2011
- Peter Reill, Director of the Center and Clark
- 1993-1995
- John Bidwell, Head Librarian
- 1996-2010
- Bruce Whiteman, Head Librarian
Extent
159 Linear Feet (369 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Records of the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library and the Center for 17th- and 18th-Century Studies from 1934 to the present. Subjects treated by these materials include library acquisitions, academic events, fellowships, Clark buildings and grounds, publicity and press clippings, and library reference and circulation records.
Physical location
Clark Library and SRLF
Processing History
Processed by Rebecca Fenning, November 2010-February 2011
Genre / Form
- Accession records -- United States -- 20th century
- Administrative records -- United States -- 20th century
- Correspondence -- United States -- 20th century
- Invoices -- United States -- 20th century
Topical
- Acquisitions (Libraries) -- United States -- 20th century
- Collection development (Libraries) -- United States -- 20th century
- Congresses and conventions -- United States -- 20th century
- Library administration -- United States -- 20th century
- Library employees -- United States -- 20th century
- Library publications -- United States -- 20th century
- Library records -- United States -- 20th century
- Title
- Finding Aid for the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library Institutional Archive 1934-2010
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Processed by Rebecca Fenning.
- Date
- ©2011
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in: English.
Repository Details
Part of the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library Repository