Calif. History Housed in USC Libraries
Photo/Dan Knapp
The San Francisco-based society made the partnership official at a signing ceremony during its June 21 board meeting held in USC’s Doheny Memorial Library. The USC Libraries’ special collections, also in Doheny, will continue to be home to the society’s collection.
The agreement ensures that this valuable resource will be available to scholars at USC and around the world until at least 2017.
The archive originally was placed on long-term deposit at USC in 1990. It comprises a variety of historically significant documents, maps, coastal survey reports, photographs and numerous works focusing on the Golden State. The bulk of the collection’s contents originated between 1860 and 1960.
Among the segments of the society’s archive is the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Collection, one of the most-researched, according to librarian and regional history curator Dace Taube.
Before the meeting, board members toured USC Libraries’ digital imaging lab, located in University Village. The USC Libraries have digitized more than 22,000 of the society’s images and made them available to researchers, students and the public through the USC Digital Archive at digarc.usc.edu.
“Countless scholars use the collection to trace the history of Southern California and the evolution of Los Angeles from a small farming community to a major metropolis,” said Marje Schuetze-Coburn, dean of the USC Libraries. “To have these materials under our care is a great joy and responsibility. We look forward to preserving our relationship with the California Historical Society for years to come.”
For more information, contact Dace Taube at taube@usc.edu or (213) 821-2366.
Latest stories
- A Pill Against Chemo? February 9, 2010 10:21 AM
- Fall Applications Up Slightly at USC February 9, 2010 8:12 AM
- For-Profit Colleges Focus of New Book February 9, 2010 8:08 AM
-
For Journalists »
-
USC in the News
for 2/9/2010 »-
Los Angeles ran an op-ed by Bill Deverell of the USC College about looking to the past in order to move on to the future. “You can do better, Los Angeles. You’ve heard it before: admonishment from the lecture hall pulpit or the pages of a book or magazine. History matters. You should pay closer attention,” Deverell wrote. “The history of Los Angeles reflects and illuminates American and world history all at once. With a little effort, something powerful happens: historical sensibility provides perspective on the here and now. Who wouldn’t want that?” The column is the first in a series for the magazine’s new CityThink section, L.A. Observed reported.
SoCal Minds featured the USC Good Neighbors Campaign, in which USC faculty and staff donate money for programs benefiting the neighborhoods surrounding the USC campus. The program was launched under the direction of USC President Steven B. Sample in reaction to the Los Angeles riots, the story noted. The campaign raised a record-breaking $1.2 million in donations this past year, despite tough economic times, the article stated. The story reported that several university units had 100 percent participation, including the USC Rossier School, KUSC-FM, the USC Fisher Museum of Art, the Office of the Treasurer, the Office of the Senior Vice President, Administration, the Health Sciences Libraries and USCard Services.
CNN cited research conducted by Adam Rose of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development for USC’s Homeland Security Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events. Rose’s study found that the standard economic costs of the 9/11 attacks, estimated at $25 billion, were exceeded by the costs of behavioral reactions far from the site of the attack (for example, an additional $85 billion due to a decrease in demand for air travel).
Variety reported that the 22nd annual USC Libraries Scripter Award was given to “Up in the Air” novelist Walter Kirn and to USC alumnus Jason Reitman and Shelton Turner, who adapted Kirn’s book for the screen. In his acceptance speech, Reitman noted that his father, Ivan Reitman, used USC’s Doheny Memorial Library as a stand-in for the New York Public Library in “Ghostbusters.” The Wrap noted that Catherine Quinlan, dean of USC Libraries, emceed the ceremony.
National Public Radio’s “13.7” ran a commentary by K.C. Cole of the USC Annenberg School about the role of science in diplomacy. “We all know that the technology produced from scientific research can make international conflicts more deadly than ever. But can science help stop war?” Cole said. She mentioned that she recently took part in a USC Center on Public Diplomacy conference on science diplomacy and the prevention of conflict.
-
-
Campus News
- Capital Connections
- USC faculty, staff and alumni in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento
- In Print
- New and recent books written or edited by USC faculty and staff
- Family Matters
- Achievements and awards
- Obituaries