A new exhibition focusing on the primary resource materials available to students and on the growth of the Gerth Archives and Special Collections at CSUDH has opened in the Library Art Gallery. The exhibition “Out of the Attic and Into the Archives: A Retrospective of 21st Century Collecting at the Gerth Archives and Special Collections at CSUDH” features collections added to the archives in the last two decades.
The exhibition focuses on Latine activism, Jose Guadalupe Posada calaveras prints, the LGBTQ+ movement, Latine comic books, the early civil rights movement organizations, Filipino-American activism, the anti-nuclear power movement, the history of Los Angeles literature, the tradeswomen movement, feminism and the suffragette movement, the history of the American underground press, Compton history, and a wide range of protest posters relating to civil rights and Central America.
“The exhibition is designed to reveal the scope of research opportunities for students now and in the future, said Greg Williams, Director of the Gerth Archives and Special Collections. “We’re presenting posters, correspondence, and publications related to social, political, and literary movements that connect the political with the personal. The exhibition also contains materials that don’t usually show up in archival collections, including banners, hard hats, yo-yo’s, tee-shirts, watercolors, carved birds, and a variety of trunks and suitcases.”
The collections have been donated or obtained from the public—everyone from aging radicals to antiquarians and collectors have donated to the archives.
During the 20th century, CSUDH collecting focused on the 1910 Airmeet, the Dominguez Family, some Japanese American collections, CSUDH history. and the CSU systemwide archives. Over the past few decades, the collections have become more representational and diverse.
The archives have collected and digitized over 180 boxes of Chicano newspapers or periodicals, expanded the number of Japanese American collections to over 150 separate collections, collected over 140 boxes of LGBTQ+ periodicals, built up resources focusing on the civil rights movement beyond the 1960s, and brought a wealth of historical documentation to CSUDH.
There are now over 545 archival collections, 90,000 digital objects in the CSUDH digital repository, and 10,000 rare books. As a result of this growth, Gerth Archives collections are among the most used primary resource materials within the CSU and the state of California.
Faculty, instructors and community groups are invited to bring classes and other groups for a exhibition overview or tour. Exhibition tour form can be found at https://libguides.csudh.edu/archives-home.
The exhibition is open Monday-Friday from 10 am to 4 pm from March 17 through Dec. 20. The Library Arts Gallery is adjacent to the globe sculpture in LIB 1940. An exhibition open house is planned for March 26 at the Gallery between 3:30 pm and 7 pm.
