SJSU Special Collections & Archives

03/02/2023

SJSU Special Collections & Archives is currently hiring student assistants. We are looking for students interested in gaining experience in the archival profession. Our Student Assistants receive invaluable archival training and professional experience. See job description for details on how to apply.

Student Assistant Job Description SJSU Special Collections & Archives is looking for students interested in gaining experience in the archival profession. Ideally, your graduation date will be May 2024 or later, and you can commit to 15-20 hours per week. Our Student Assistants receive invaluabl...

02/18/2022

Whether on campus or remote, you are strongly encouraged to see a new SC&A mixed media exhibition titled "Black Spartans (1907-1948)" and co-curated by University Archivist Carli Lowe and Special Collections Librarian Kate Steffens. To quote the first paragraph of the gateway page to the digital exhibition - https://library.sjsu.edu/exhibits/black-spartans - "'Black Spartans (1907-1948)' represents ongoing research in San José State University Special Collections & Archives identifying documentation of Black experiences throughout SJSU history." There is also a physical display of the 19 digital portraits designed by Yeab Kebede ('22 Digital Media Arts) in the Jennifer & Philip DiNapoli Gallery on the Second Floor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library available to the public until April 1st.

"Black Spartans (1907-1948)" "Black Spartans (1907-1948)" represents ongoing research in San José State University Special Collections & Archives identifying documentation of Black experiences throughout SJSU history. Much of the information we have comes from the Spartan Daily student newspaper an...

08/16/2021

SJSU King Library Special Collections & Archives is hiring part-time Student Assistants!

We are looking for iSchool and History Department students interested in gaining experience in the archival profession. Ideally, you will have a few semesters left in your program, and can commit to 12-20 hours per week. Some Saturday hours will be required.
Please consider applying to receive invaluable archival training and professional experience. We look forward to meeting you. For more information, or to submit your application, please contact us at [email protected].

STUDENT ASSISTANT POSITION DESCRIPTION UNIVERSITY LIBRARY One Washington Square ▪ San José, CA 95192-0028 To apply for this position please fill out the Student Assistant Job Application https://library.sjsu.edu/sites/library.sjsu.edu/files/documents/SA_job_application_n...

03/24/2020

A Message from the Director:

Dear Students and Faculty, On-site and Off-site Researchers, Friends of the Library and the general SJSU Community,

I hope that you are all safe and well. I wanted to reach out and let you know that Special Collections & Archives (SC&A) is now providing remote services like the rest of King Library. What can we do remotely? A lot, we are discovering. From students with reference questions to offsite researchers with requests for permissions, from donors with potential acquisitions to faculty in need of revising class projects or assignments, we remain available to assist you.

There is one thing we cannot do for a while: Provide access to our physical holdings. We miss our books and collections terribly, as well as our on-site researchers and tour groups and visiting classes. I miss seeing my staff and students every day. (Like everyone else, we are doing the next best thing: phone calls, emails, and Zoom meetings.) But our holdings are safe and secure in our vaults, and we eagerly look forward to sharing them with you again.

In the meantime, we plan to connect more via social media, as well as expand and update our webpages and digital content. Our LibGuides (https://libguides.sjsu.edu/specialcollections) already offer links to a wide range of subjects collected by SC&A. Finding Aids (https://oac.cdlib.org/institutions/San+Jos%c3%a9+State+University) providing content for and context about our collections are accessible on the OAC (Online Archive of California), and information about our books may be found on OneSearch (https://library.sjsu.edu/). Be sure to peruse our digital materials on our new online platform as well (https://digitalcollections.sjsu.edu/special-collections-archives).

You may contact us at [email protected], or me personally at [email protected], with any questions or concerns, including requests for help to navigate our online resources. Special Collections and Archives are wonderful things, but they wouldn’t be so special without the inquisitive, devoted, enthusiastic individuals who use them. Please continue staying safe and well, and thank you for your indefatigable support.

Warmly,

Craig
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Craig S. Simpson
Director, SJSU Special Collections & Archives

Historical Research Topics and Collections

03/16/2020

In light of the Coronavirus/COVID-19 outbreak, in-person reference requests have been suspended until further notice. We are still available to answer research and reference questions via email during regular business hours: [email protected]

02/19/2020

02/18/2020

In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Survival Faire, organized February 16-20, 1970 by San José State College humanities students, we are excited to share some images of materials recently donated to the University Archives by Anna Koster, one of the Faire's co-organizers. These materials will be the foundation of our university's first archival collection on the Survival Faire. According to a 1970 press release, the Faire was "dedicated to the survival of mankind and to the ecological problems which man's survival entails."

08/21/2019

Happy start of the Fall Semester! This 1967 photograph takes us back to the "good old days" when SJS students registered for classes in person. Our University Archives features many images throughout the long, rich history of our institution.

08/19/2019

We have a terrific new exhibit on display in the "elevator cases" where you get off the elevators on the 5th floor. For anyone unfamiliar with Fraktur font, the title is "Treasures from the Vault: Medieval Manuscripts and Beyond," and the exhibit is curated by Speccoll student assistant Jacob Rabinowitz.

08/01/2019

2019 marks the Herman Melville Bicentennial, and he was born in New York City 200 years to the day on August 1, 1819. Our strikingly illustrated Arion Press edition of Melville's MOBY-DICK is available in SJSU Special Collections & Archives.

06/27/2019

Paul Laurence Dunbar, considered by many scholars to be the first prominent African-American poet, was born on this day in 1872. A comprehensive anthology of his works, published in 1907, the year after Dunbar's death, can be viewed in SJSU Special Collections & Archives.

06/24/2019

Perfect for Summer is our "California Flora" exhibit in the Special Collections & Archives Reading Room, located on the 5th floor of MLK Library. Curated by student assistant Monica Keane, the exhibit showcases images of native plants and features the history of the study & preservation of native plants in San Jose. On display until August 15th.