An Extraordinary Collection

In 2008 the members of the band The Grateful Dead donated their archive to the university library.  The Grateful Dead Archive represents one of the most significant popular cultural collections of the 20th Century and the world's largest collection of Grateful Dead memorabilia.

The archive includes business records, promotional materials, tickets, laminates, fan mail, posters, stage props, and more.  Additional donations continue to swell the original gift.

The Grateful Dead created a vital and artistically influential body of music that continues to attract adherents today. The phenomenon they inspired represents one of the most powerful and enduring legacies of the 1960s. 

The influence of the Grateful Dead can be seen in everything from the great poster art renaissance which illustrated so many of their concerts, to modern concert touring and even high-level scholarship. The band's business practices inspire business leaders, managers, and marketers as well.

Plans to showcase the Grateful Dead Archive include the creation of Dead Central, an 1,400 square foot permanent display space for exhibits of artifacts and other material from the collection.  Additionally, a website that will allow fans from around the world to view UCSC's holdings, as well as contribute digital scans of their own materials, is being created. 

The Archive will address the needs and interests of everyone from casual fans to senior academics.

Naming opportunities offer the ability to memorialize or honor a group or individual for whom the Grateful Dead is important.

Your gift to the Grateful Dead Archive is matched with $1 for every $3 up to a total of $100,000.  

This challenge grant ends April 30, 2012.  With your support the Grateful Dead Archive can receive $400,000. 

Support the Archive. 

Your Dollars at Work
 

Your contribution:

• Preserves the several hundred linear feet of the Archive
• Digitizes tickets, posters, photographs, fan mail, business papers and more
• Creates the database that makes finding objects and information possible
• Pays for performing, recording, and transcribing interviews   
• Supports the Archive's mission to acquire and catalog materials, create exhibits, and sponsor publications, both online and in print 

More About the Archive

Read the blog of archivist Nicholas Meriwether at www.GratefulDeadArchive.org

Read Reliquary: The Newsletter of the Grateful Dead Archive

Follow the Grateful Dead Archive on Facebook. 

View the brochure for more information about the Archive and a printable donation form.

View the info card for a succinct summary of information about the Archive. 

To discuss supporting the Grateful Dead Archive, please contact Library Development Director Astrid von Soosten at 831-459-5870.