Due to the on-going library construction project, many of the Special Collections items normally available for research are now physically off-site and are inaccessible for the next two years. The resources outlined below however are available to you for your research project, but many of them are not physically stored in the library building and must be ordered by you for use.
Ordering from & Visiting Special Collections Process:
Email Luisa Orlando on Mondays or by 4pm on Tuesdays to ensure delivery of your items by Friday of the same week. Items ordered from Wednesday forward will not be delivered until the following Friday.
Make an appointment to come in and make use of the materials via email.
Keep your appointment; we have limited space and many other researchers interested in using the space so if you cannot make your appointment, please provide ample notice.
Order specific, discrete items (please don't order boxes 1-30, for example, order box 1 or box 2, make use of the finding aids, dig deep, make an informed request - it will save you time and research trauma)
A maximum of 5 people may be in the Special Collections viewing room at a time. We'll work with the class to schedule viewing times - stay tuned for a schedule.
Be prepared to leave your backpacks, pens, and other personal belongings at the door. Special Collections items have very specific preservation and security issues and you will be expected to follow them.
Pencils and an old-fashioned notebook OR a new-fangled laptop are the tools of Special Collections researchers. Please make sure you bring them to your appointment.
Some items may require that you wear gloves, be prepared for anything, some of these items may be one of a kind or in need of special care.
No photographs with a camera (including cell phone camera) may be taken of items.
Finally, the viewing/reading room you will be using houses unique materials that may not be handled without assistance from staff.
Information to Include in Your Order:
your name and contact information (email address, telephone)
the name of the collection
collection number (located in the descriptive summary)
the box number or volume number needed (located in the collection contents)
Sample Order: Kerry Scott, scottk@ucsc.edu, Guide to HerBooks Feminist Press , collection number MS 37, Box Folder 1:4, correspondence.
Primary resources are items/works created at the time of an event or sometimes many years later by a person who witnessed or took part in the event. Events may be momentous (D-Day) or personal (a move from one town to another) - either way, if any person who took part or witnessed it writes a personal account, it is a primary source. Primary sources reflect the opinions and outlook of the people who authored them; remember that when you apply your analysis to the item.
Example of primary resources: journals/diaries, letters, emails, oral histories, photographs, interviews, newspaper accounts of an event (from the time/day)
If you are unsure about an item's qualifications as a primary source, use the following excellent resources to help guide your thinking:
UCSC Special Collections & Archives - main page/portal to the collections listed below. Use this page to link to related sites and or learn about policy, hours, etc.
Note: only items listed as "at NRLF" are actually available for research. If items are listed as "at UCSC" they are actually in transition to storage and will not be available for your research project. To determine the status/availability of your item in both instances, the "descriptive summary" link for your item will tell you where your item is located.
Read the contents and scope - this tells you about the item and what you may expect to find.
Select collection contents to determine what is in the collection and which boxes you may want to have ordered for viewing.
Start with a keyword search in Cruzcat. Make note of the subjects Cruzcat uses to describe your topic; link from the subject headings to find more potentially relevant titles. Use the modify or limit/sort button to focus your search.
Send successful searches to your email account OR export their information to Endnote Web to build your bibliography - put the keywords or subject terms you used in the message line to remind yourself of how you found the item(s).
Some sample keywords and subjects to try in Cruzcat:
memoir
autobiography + Asian American Authors, Women Authors, etc.
If you get stuck, need a term defined or a concept summarized, don't forget about the myriad secondary sources available to you at UCSC.
Try these subject headings in Cruzcat: (select Subject from the drop down list and try these terms, look for other linked subject headings that will work for your topic, too)
Feminism - Encylopedias
Women - Social Conditions Encylopedias
Womens Studies Encyclopedia
Feminist Theory
Feminism Dictionaries
See the following Feminist Studies subject guide for examples of databases relevant to the field as well as additional print reference resources:
