The William Andrews Clark Memorial Library is a rare books and manuscripts collection, with particular strengths in English literature and history (1641–1800), Oscar Wilde, and fine printing. Though the majority of the Clark's collections are focused on Great Britain, the library still maintains significant Los Angeles-related collections.

UCSB professor David Gebhard (1927-1996) founded the Architecture and Design Collection in 1963. Today it is one of the largest architectural archives in North America with more than 1,000,000 drawings, as well as papers, photographs, scrapbooks, models, decorative objects, and furniture. The focus of the collection is the design and architecture of southern California from the late 19th through…