1921-1949

The California Institute of Technology Archives and Special Collections, founded in 1968, has a mission of facilitating understanding of Caltech’s role in the history of science and technology. Our collections include the papers of Caltech researchers; photographs, film, audio, video, websites, and publications documenting Caltech’s history; scientific instruments characteristic of research at Caltech; and rare books anchored by the Rocco Collection of early modern physics and astronomy. We have been collecting oral histories of Caltech faculty and other affiliates since 1979, and have published approximately 200 transcripts on the web. Caltech has also made publicly available on the web the papers of astrophysicist George Ellery Hale, founder of Mount Wilson Observatory; aeronautical engineer and pioneer of human-powered flight Paul MacCready; and Nobel Prize-winning particle physicist and molecular biologist Donald Glaser.

The Marina del Rey Historical Society (MdRHS) was founded to collect and preserve historical documents, artifacts, publications, photographs, data and information relating to the development of Marina del Rey as exhibits and in retrievable electronic databases in order to keep the past alive for community pride and to create a unique resource of cultural and educational materials of historic value.

Currently our collection includes Marina del Rey, Playa del Rey, the Howard Hughes Airfield (Playa Vista), Venice, Ocean Park, Santa Monica, LAX (Mines Field) and San Pedro.

Extensive collection of photos and archival material predating the incorporation of the City of Thousand Oaks and specific sites of regional interest -- Jungleland, Lake Sherwood, etc.

Adsausage is an open access online database of printed material artifacts relating to Los Angeles history.

 The digital library holds a wealth of other material, including collections on fashion, film, design, music and various pop-culture artifacts.

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Library & Archive is the most comprehensive transit operator-owned library resource in the United States. As the only multimodal transportation library in Southern California, we serve employees, the public, governments and research institutions around the world. Our origins date back to the days of the Los Angeles Railway in 1890, but we were reintroduced to the public by the Southern California Rapid Transit District in 1971. Our collection contains approximately 250,000 items of significance to Los Angeles transportation history from 1873 to the present. This includes 45,000 books, reports, studies, conference proceedings, plans, maps, and drawings, 20,000 microfiche reports, more than 20,000 photographs and images, over 700 videos, several thousand ephemera, and a growing collection of publicly-accessible full-text digital documents. We collect, preserve,and provide access to archival materials from our predecessor transit agencies: Pacific Electric, Los Angeles Railway, Metropolitan Coach Lines, Los Angeles Transit Lines, Asbury Transit, Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority, Southern California Rapid Transit District, and the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission

The Margaret Herrick Library collects a wide range of materials documenting film as both an art form and an industry. Its holdings include photographs, posters, books, periodicals, screenplays, oral histories, and extensive clippings files on people, films, and companies. The clippings files are organized under five headings: production, biography, general subject, festivals and awards, and Academy history. The general subject files contain clippings and photographs regarding aspects of Los Angeles such as homes, studios, motion picture theaters, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, Los Angeles as a location, educational and cultural institutions, theme parks, and landmarks; labor disputes and the formation of industry-related unions and guilds are also extensively documented in the general subject files. The Academy history files provide coverage of that very Los Angeles-based activity—the Academy Awards. The library's Special Collections contain materials relating to the careers of numerous directors, producers, actors, and other craftspeople and their filmmaking work in Los Angeles. Dating from the early 1900s to the present, the materials in Special Collections include scripts in various drafts, personal and business correspondence, production memoranda, sketches, clippings, music scores, recordings, scrapbooks, artifacts, and photographs.

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.

Photo archive (many obtained from LA Public Library Collection, plus others from misc. sources)., Historical Document archive (many also obtained from LA Public Library collection, but many others as well). All items of particular interest to those interested in Northeast Los Angeles, especially Highland Park, Garvanza, and Eagle Rock. Other collection: I have aggregated the history of location scouting in southern california via manilla folders used for presentation of location scouting photography from the late '80s to the early 2000s. Sources include individual location scouts' collections, the california film commission library (retired in 2015) and my personal collection. The amount is over 500 linear feet and is organized via the California Film Commission system. AGRICULTURAL - 0100 Fish Farms & Hatcheries - 0101 Ranches & Farms- 0102 Vineyards & Orchards - 0103 CITIES, TOWNS & PUBLIC SPACES - 0200 Cities - 0201 Fountains & Statues- 0202 Neighborhoods - 0203 Small Towns - 0204 Town Squares & Plazas - 0205 Western, Mining & Ghost Towns - 0206 COMMERCIAL AND RETAIL - 0300 Art Galleries - 0301 Automobile Dealerships - 0302 Ballrooms & Banquet Facilities - 0303 Banks - 0304 Bars & Nightclubs - 0305 Beauty Salons & Barber Shops - 0306 Cemeteries - 0307 Convention Centers - 0308 Funeral Homes & Mortuaries - 0309 Gas Stations, Auto Repair & Car Wash - 0310 Hospitals & Medical Care Facilities -0311 Hotels, Motels, Resorts & Spas - 0312 Office Buildings - 0313 Parking Lots & Structures - 0314 Restaurants - 0315 Stores, Malls & Retail Districts - 0316 Stores, Malls & Retail Districts - 0316 ENTERTAINMENT AND LEISURE - 0400 Amusement & Theme Parks - 0401 Attractions - 0402 Billiard & Pool Halls - 0403 Boardwalks - 0404 Bowling Alleys - 0405 Carnivals - 0406 Casinos & Card Clubs - 0407 Fairgrounds & Exhibition Halls - 0408 Health Clubs & Workout Facilities - 0409 Theaters & Stages - 0410 Zoological Parks & Aquariums - 0411 GOVERNMENT - 0500 Civic & Community Centers - 0501 Courthouses & Courtrooms - 0502 Fire Stations - 0503 Government Buildings - 0504 Military Bases & Forts - 0505 Morgues - 0506 Police Facilities - 0507 Prisons & Jails - 0508 INDUSTRIAL - 0600 Boiler Rooms, Basements & Tunnels - 0601 Factories, Plants & Mills - 0602 Junkyards, Dumps & Recycling Centers - 0603 Manufacturing & Industrial District - 0604 Manufacturing & Industrial District - 0604 Oil Fields, Refineries & Derricks - 0605 Quarries, Gravel Pits & Mines - 0606 Factories Plants Mills - 0607 Warehouses - 0607 INSTITUTIONAL - 0700 Churches, Synagogues & Temples - 0701 Colleges, Universities & Trade Schools - 0702 Daycare Centers & Preschools - 0703 Elementary & Secondary Schools - 0704 Libraries - 0705 Missions - 0706 Museums - 0707 Observatories & Planetariums - 0708 Seminaries, Convents & Retreats - 0709 Shelters and Transient Lodging - 0710 Social and Fraternal Halls - 0711 MISCELLANEOUS - 0800 Boardrooms & Conference Rooms - 0801 Hangars - 0802 Kitchens & Bathrooms - 0803 Laboratories, Research & Tech - 0804 - Lofts & Studios - 0805 Murals & Graffiti - 0806 Vacant Lots & Abandoned Building - 0807 Vernacular Architecture - 0808 NATURAL TERRAIN - 0900 NATURAL TERRAIN - 0900 Caves & Caverns - 0901 Deserts & Barren Land - 0902 Dry Lake Beds - 0903 Forests & Woodlands - 0904 Mountains & Rocks - 0905 Open Terrain - 0906 Sand Dunes - 0907 Scenic Vistas & Geological Oddities - 0908 PARKS GARDENS AND CAMPS - 1000 Camps & Campgrounds - 1001 Gardens - 1002 Jungles - 1003 Parks - 1004 RESIDENTIAL - 1100 Apartments & Condominiums - 1101 Cabins - 1102 Castles - 1103 Houses - 1104 Mansions & Estates - 1105 Mobile Homes & Trailer Parks - 1106 SPORTS - 1200 Arenas & Stadiums - 1201 Cycling Sports Facilities - 1202 Equestrian Facilities - 1203 Golf Facilities - 1204 Gymnasiums - 1205 Gymnasiums - 1205 Motor Raceways - 1206 Racquet Sports Facilities - 1207 Ranges - 1208 Skating Rinks & Parks - 1209 Snowsport Facilities - 1210 Swimming Pools - 1211 STUDIOS - 1300 Professional Photo Studios & Labs - 1301 Recording, Broadcast & Cable Facilities - 1302 Studio Backlots & Standing Sets - 1303 TRANSPORTATION - 1400 Aircraft - 1401 Airports & Airfields - 1402 Alleys - 1403 Boats & Ships - 1404 Bridges - 1405 Cable Cars, Buses & Trolleys - 1406 Railroads & Rail Transportation - 1407 Roads, Highways, Freeways & Matches - 1408 Tunnels - 1409 Walkways and Bike Paths - 1410 WATER - 1500 Beaches & Coastline - 1501 Commercial Ports, Piers & Docks - 1502 Harbors & Marinas - 1503 Lakes, Dams & Reservoirs - 1504 Lakes, Dams & Reservoirs - 1504 Lighthouses - 1505 Rivers, Deltas & Waterfalls - 1506 Springs & Geysers - 1507 Swamps & Marshes - 1508 Water Storage Facilities - 1509

The Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research primarily documents and preserves the history of twentieth-century radicalism and social change through progressive movements in the greater Los Angeles area. The materials held by the library relate to the labor, peace, social justice, civil rights, women’s, gay and lesbian, and various other grassroots movements. While the library’s print holdings—numbering approximately thirty thousand books and three thousand periodical titles—range well beyond the subject of Los Angeles to socialism, Marxism, and the Cold War, its special collections focus on Los Angeles. These collections include twenty-five thousand pamphlets, fifteen hundred posters, two thousand photographs, one hundred documentary films, one hundred videos, thirty-five hundred audio tapes, organizational files for Los Angeles and national grassroots groups, and extensive subject files containing newspaper clippings, magazine articles, and reports. Among the library’s major archival collections are the papers of civil liberties defender Leo Gallagher, California Eagle editor and publisher Charlotta Bass, and Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research founders Emil and Tassia Freed, as well as papers from the Los Angeles chapter of the Civil Rights Congress, the Los Angeles Committee for the Protection of the Foreign Born, the Los Angeles International Ladies Garment Workers Union, and the Los Angeles Congress of Industrial Organizations. The archival collections on the Watts Rebellion of 1965, the Los Angeles chapter of the Black Panthers, and Chicano activism are heavily used, as are the documentary films of the 1930s from the Film and Photo League and those of the 1960s from the Newsreel (SDS) collective. The library is committed to making its collections on the multicultural history of Los Angeles widely available and to working with other institutions and organizations to ensure that a broadly based historical record of the city’s people is preserved for future generations.