Religious

Pepperdine University's Special Collections and University Archives maintains several collections of materials related to the history of Los Angeles. The Malibu Historical Collection includes a full run of the Malibu Times newspaper (1946-present), a full run of the the Malibu Surfside News newspaper (1973-present), the John Mazza Collection of Historic Surfboards, historic books related to Malibu and its residents, audio recordings of lectures on Malibu history, and records of the Malibu Water Company, the Rindge Dam, and the Malibu Stage Company. The James Hahn Collection (1990-2005) includes materials from Hahn's years as mayor of Los Angeles and as Los Angeles City Attorney. The Elinor Oswald Collection of Los Angeles Tourism Ephemera includes brochures, pamphlets, and newspaper clippings related to museums, art galleries, and artists in the Los Angeles area. The William S. Banowsky Papers and the M. Norvel Young Papers include materials related to various civic and political events in the Los Angeles area that occurred during their tenures as Pepperdine presidents. The Pepperdine University Archives includes photographs, audio and video, publications, and institutional records that document the history of the institution from its founding in 1937 in South Central Los Angeles, to its move to Malibu in 1972, to the present time.

The mission of USC Shoah Foundation - The Institute for Visual History and Education is to develop empathy, understanding and respect through the use of testimony. Shoah Foundation’s Visual History Archive contains 55,000 videotaped interviews with witnesses to the Holocaust and other genocides that were conducted in 65 countries and in 43 languages over the period 1994-2018. The approximately 2,600 interviews that were gathered in Los Angeles relate to the experiences of Jewish Holocaust survivors who came to the city during and after World War II.

The Whittier History Room is located on the mezzanine of the Central Library and is home to the Whittier Local History Collection. The purpose of this collection is to collect, preserve and make available to the public materials reflecting the development of the City of Whittier and surrounding areas. The main areas of collection are Whittier history, Whittier Hills and California history. The Whittier history collection includes Whittier College yearbooks, local high school yearbooks, Whittier City Directories, local telephone books, Haines Directories, and titles by local authors. The entire book collection is cataloged and searchable through the online catalog. There are various files and archives supporting both the Whittier Hills and the Whittier History collections. These consist of clipping files, periodicals, pamphlets and ephemera. Finding aids are available in Archives that list all items with a brief description. Selected materials have been digitized and are available in the Visual Collection. The Map Collection contains over 250 maps. A listing of the entire collection can be found on this website. A selection of these maps has been digitized and is available online. The Whittier Historical Photograph Collection is a collection of photographs of Whittier, the surrounding areas and its people. It is made up of several smaller collections such as the Espolt, Whittier National Trust & Savings Bank, and (most recently acquired) the White-Bailey, as well as individual gifts. This collection continues to grow and we encourage any donations that would broaden and enhance its scope and depth. The Shades of Whittier Collection was created in 1999 with funding from the federal Library Services & Technology Act (LSTA). It is a collection of photographs reflecting the ethnic and cultural diversity of the community. The 301 photographs in the collection were donated by numerous individuals and depict not only the local area, but also the many geographic areas that the people of Whittier came from. The Oral History Collection includes oral histories, video interviews and written transcripts. The older oral histories were done during the 1960s and ‘70s and include many old Whittier family names such as Perry, Tebbetts, Myers, Milhouse and Hodge. In the late 1990s, as part of the Whittier Hills collection, a series of interviews was conducted with individuals active in the preservation of the Whittier Hills. The more recent interviews are done in video format. The Local Newspaper archives are digitized from 1888-1955 and are keyword searchable. 1888-1923 are available on the web. 1924-1955 is restricted to library use only. 1956 to current is available on microfilm, for library use only. Lastly, a list of Local History Resources has been provided. This list includes links to local history organizations and relevant city departments that strive to conserve not only historic structures and neighborhoods but also natural resources of the City and surrounding hills. The Community Development website includes a listing of the City's historic landmarks and districts.

The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, the educational and cultural arm of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Dedicated to the appreciation, study and preservation of our motion picture heritage, the Archive's activities include collection, preservation, documentation, exhibition and research access to films. The Academy announced its plan to collect motion pictures upon its founding in 1927 and made its first film acquisition two years later, in 1929. The Archive’s collection now includes over 140,000 items, covering some 70,000 individual titles. Many items within the Archive’s collection relate to the Los Angeles region, including: • Film and video documenting the history of the Academy and the Academy Foundation, including its public programs, lectures, symposia, and presentations. • Film, kinescope and videotape of Academy Awards ceremonies extending back to 1949, along with additional news material and special coverage of the awards show. • Films and film programs associated with the Student Academy Awards – a great number of which originate from Los Angeles film schools. Ongoing film festival collections, including the Latino International Film Festival and the PXL This! Pixelvision Film Festival Documentary film holdings include the collection of the International Documentary Association. Many of our documentary holdings feature subjects that are Los Angeles specific. Visual effects and technical achievements - through submissions for the Academy Awards process the Archive has acquired a substantial collection of visual effects reels, makeup and sound test reels, and film and video documentation of the Academy's Scientific and Technical Awards. Many materials from this collection were produced and crafted in the Los Angeles region. Home movies and amateur films, particularly those related to the history of Hollywood, the motion picture industry, and the history of the Los Angeles region.

The Max and Lore Zeller Library provides a specialized collection (including rare books) of over 6,500 volumes on Jungian psychology and related subjects: sandplay therapy, general psychology, anthropology, mythology, religion, alchemy, art and symbolism. The extensive book collection, 800 audio CDs, videotapes and DVDs, and 16 journals are available to the analytic community and the general public through an affordable membership fee. Library membership provides onsite access to the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism (ARAS). Drawing upon C.G. Jung’s work on the archetype and the collective unconscious, ARAS is a pictorial and written archive of mythological, ritualistic, and symbolic images from all over the world and from all epochs of human history. The archive contains over 17,000 photographic images, each cross-indexed, and accompanied by scholarly commentary. The commentary includes a description of the image that serves to place it in its unique historical, cultural, and geographical setting. The ARAS commentaries honor both the universal patterns and specific cultural context associated with each image. The librarian is available to help steer readers toward their particular interests.

Whittier College's Special Collections and Archives include six main collections. Our Quaker collection is one of the largest of its kind in the United States. This collection includes photographs, realia, rare books, primary, and secondary sources relating to Quaker's of the past and today. The subject of our second collection is John Greenleaf Whittier, respected 19th century poet.This collection includes nearly all books and poetical works written by Whittier (published and unpublished), photographs, broadsides, pamphlets, ephemera, and correspondence. Also included are documents and historical newspapers edited by Whittier, relating to the Abolition Movement, including: the National Era (1847-58), National Anti-Slavery Standard (1854-69), and American Manufacturer (1828-30).Three additional collections come from alumni Richard Nixon, Jessamyn West, and Lola B. Hoffman. The Nixon collection focuses on his pre-presidential life at Whittier College, and earlier. The collection includes photographs, college-related documents, oral histories, campaign ephemera, and various gifts given to Nixon during his years as a major public figure. The Jessamyn West collection includes works by the author, her personal papers, photographs, and and personal library.The Lola Hoffman Collection includes works on Mexican history, homeopathic medicine, the occult, classic literature, and Western history. Some of these works date back as far as the 15th century. The Special Collections also houses the College Archives. These document the college from its founding in 1887 to the current day. Included in this collection are yearbooks, administrative papers, photographs, ephemera, theses, professor publications, and college newspapers.

The Museum of Social Justice is located in La Plaza United Methodist Church, on the site of the oldest section of Los Angeles. The Museum’s historical collection consists of documents, photographs, artifacts, and other materials created by La Plaza Methodist Church at the beginning of the twentieth century. The collection features over 2000 photographs that capture the work of the founders of the church, its community center, medical clinic, and the predominantly poor Mexican immigrant population the church was founded to serve. The documents provide a look into the poor living conditions that existed near the Plaza and how La Plaza Methodist Church's social justice practices improved the lives of many of the immigrants living on and near the Plaza. Among other items, the photos feature the first integrated drinking fountain in Los Angeles and the founding of Goddwill Industries of Southern California.  

Created in 1967, the University Archives and Special Collections (UA&SC) section preserves and provides access to sixty-six special collections, including the institutional history of California State University, Fullerton. These special materials form a very important augmentation to the general holdings of books, serials, documents, audio-visual, and electronic resources in the Pollak Library. Collections include science fiction pulp magazines, authors' manuscripts, rare maps, local history, and fine press books.

The American Jewish University Archives are various collections of documents, pamphlets, letters, audio, films, publications, photographs, scrapbooks, and ephemera that document the history of the University of Judaism and the Brandeis-Bardin Institute which merged to become American Jewish University in 2007, depicting people, places and events at both campuses.

The Wende Museum collects artworks, artifacts, and personal histories that record daily life, creative expression, and political developments in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union during the Cold War period. The collection comprises a variety of media including design objects, works on paper, ceramics, paintings, sculptures, posters, furniture, textiles, photographs, films, videos, sound recordings, books, periodicals, and archives. Special projects and collections relate these artifacts to Los Angeles history and its residents, including Cold War Culver City, documenting local historical sites from the Cold War, and From Red State to Golden State: Soviet Jewish Immigration to the City of Angels, an intergenerational oral history project and documentary film. We are also the repository for the oral histories collected by the Albanian Human Rights Project, a Los-Angeles-based organization dedicated to collecting, filming, and preserving the testimonies of Albanians who were politically imprisoned or interned from 1944-1991 during Albania’s communist regime.