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About the Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT)

The Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT) is a UCLA Library Special Collections (LSC) program designed to equip emerging scholars with skills to use primary sources effectively. The center pairs graduate students from various academic fields with projects that match their expertise.

Since its creation in 2004 — funded by a generous gift from The Ahmanson Foundation — the CFPRT has employed over 200 students. These scholars have processed archival collections, conducted oral histories, curated digital exhibits and contributed to departmental outreach efforts. This important work has made some of the Library’s most valuable resources widely discoverable.

The CFPRT is committed to creating a welcoming space for students to work collaboratively, actively take part in the archival process and engage with primary sources.

Eligibility

Eligibility

Applications are welcome from enrolled UCLA graduate students of any academic discipline.

Terms

The CFPRT hires every quarter, as needed.

  • During the academic year, students may work up to 19 hours/week with all campus jobs combined (ASUCLA included)
  • CFPRT scholars can work Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. - 5 p.m
  • CFPRT scholars are paid $28.00 per hour
  • A commitment of at least 12 hours/week is required

Review Process

CFPRT positions are awarded on a competitive basis. Applications will be evaluated based on the following:

  • The availability of projects related to a candidate’s academic background and subject expertise
  • The candidate’s expressed desire to work with primary source materials to enhance their research, writing and library skills
  • The candidate’s general level of achievement

Strong candidates will be contacted shortly after submitting their application to arrange an interview and discuss potential projects. Applicants will be notified of their status by email. No phone calls, please.

Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT) Student Scholar Positions

The Center for Primary Research and Training (CFPRT) seeks applications from UCLA graduate students for positions that will provide first-hand experience working with archives and special collections material. CFPRT scholars may work up to 19 hours per week during the academic year, Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., and are paid $28 per hour. A minimum of 12 hours per week is strongly encouraged.

The CFPRT also seeks applications from UCLA undergraduate students for an undergraduate assistant position, which pays $18.75 per hour.

Application deadline for winter quarter 2025 employment is January 10, 2025.

To be considered for positions, please complete the application form below.

Position Descriptions

Processing or archival experience is not required for the positions below.

Jenny Lens photographs of The Germs
Jenny Lens photographs of The Germs

Processing scholar: Jenny Lens photographs and ephemera

Project duration: Two quarters

Jenny Lens, also known as The Girl With the Camera Eye (anointed by Patti Smith), was born and raised in Los Angeles and is the West Coast's most published punk rock photographer. This collection contains photographic materials which include contact sheets, negative strips, proofs, prints and 35 mm slides created by Jenny Lens to document the first generation LA's punk scene from 1976 to 1980. The collection also contains biographical materials, including personal and administrative papers collected by Jenny Lens related to her photography and artistic production. The biographical materials include portfolio materials and correspondence. The collection also contains ephemera collected, created, owned and gifted to Jenny Lens with bulk dates from 1975 to 1985. The ephemera includes fanzines, magazines, newspapers, fliers, autograph books, songbooks, datebooks, scripts, model release forms, ticket stubs and tear sheets that represent Lens's published photography. Lastly, the collection contains a drumstick and tambourine.

Desired skills: Knowledge of and interest in BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ Los Angeles communities and cultures, photography, performance, fashion, feminism and music.

Donna Santisi ephemera
Donna Santisi ephemera

Processing scholar: Donna Santisi photographs and ephemera

Project duration: Two quarters

Donna Santisi is an internationally published photographer who has been exploring the photographic side of the music scene since the early 1970s. In 1978, Santisi published her limited edition spiral-bound book, Ask the Angels, an homage to LA punk bands. The title of Santisi's cult classic is taken from Patti Smith's third single, and the book is dedicated to Smith. The bulk of this collection (1975-1980) contains Santisi's photographic work, including prints, negatives, contact sheets and a hard drive of digitized photographs curated by Santisi as personal favorites. The collection also contains a sample of local zines and national and international publications that published Santisi's photographs. Finally, the archive contains ephemera such as ticket stubs, backstage passes, fliers, press kits, correspondence, buttons, posters, a scrapbook, a Runaways scarf and two audiocassettes.

Desired skills: Knowledge of and interest in BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ Los Angeles communities and cultures, photography, performance, feminism and music.

Processing scholar (two positions available, $28 hourly)

Processing scholars gain hands-on training in the appraisal, preservation, arrangement and description of unprocessed archival collections. Scholars work with LSC Archivists to set priorities for processing and apply flexible and efficient processing techniques to surface hidden collections. During the project, scholars will develop familiarity with archival and library standards such as EAD, DACS, MARC, LCSH and LCNAF and work with archival content management systems such as ArchivesSpace. A commitment of two quarters is mandatory. In your application materials, please identify the specific collection you are interested in and provide information on your applicable skills and expertise.

CFPRT undergraduate assistant (one position available, $18.75 hourly)

Under the direction of and in consultation with the LSC Archivists, assist CFPRT scholars with activities that support the stabilization, discovery and access of LSC materials. This includes labeling, housing and basic archival conservation. Assists in surveying materials and creating baseline box and folder-level descriptions for material. Provides research assistance to graduate CFPRT scholars for the creation of collection description. Performs data entry and clean-up in information management systems. Supports LSC Archivists in determining and carrying out solutions for collections with reported container or description issues. Prepares material for onsite and offsite storage.

Application deadline for winter quarter 2025 employment is January 10, 2025.

Treasures of the UCLA Library

The Library has released Treasures of the UCLA Library, five short films documenting the history of the CFPRT and highlighting four student projects.

Resources

Part 1: Story of the Center for Primary Research and Training

CFPRT scholar Caroline Luce doing research in LSC reading room
The UCLA Library's Center for Primary Research and Training hires graduate students, trains them in archival methods and matches them with "hidden" or underprocessed collections in their areas of interests.
View Part 1
View Part 1
CFPRT scholar Caroline Luce doing research in LSC reading room

Part 2: Colonial Mexican Manuscripts

CFPRT Scholar Pablo Miguel Sierra Silva displaying material from the collection of bound manuscripts from Colonial Mexico in the LSC Reading Room
At the Center for Primary Research and Training, History graduate student Pablo Miguel Sierra Silva was matched with the UCLA Library's collection of bound manuscripts from Colonial Mexico. To his surprise, in the process he discovered documents from his hometown of Puebla de Los Angeles, which is the focus of his dissertation.
View Part 2
View Part 2
CFPRT Scholar Pablo Miguel Sierra Silva displaying material from the collection of bound manuscripts from Colonial Mexico in the LSC Reading Room

Part 3: Cuneiform Tablets

Near Eastern Languages and Cultures graduate student Sara Brumfield displaying various cuneiform tablets.
Near Eastern Languages and Cultures graduate student Sara Brumfield recounts her experience working at the UCLA Library's Center for Primary Research and Training, where she described and translated two collections of cuneiform tablets: the Edward A. Dickson Cuneiform Tablet Collection (ca 2100-562 BCE) and the Cumberland Clark Cuneiform Tablet Collection (ca 2250 BC).
View Part 3
View Part 3
Near Eastern Languages and Cultures graduate student Sara Brumfield displaying various cuneiform tablets.

Part 4: African American Collections

Krystal Appiah, Master's Candidate in Information Studies at UCLA, recounts her experience working at the Center for Primary Resource and Training.
Krystal Appiah, Master's Candidate in Information Studies at UCLA, recounts her experience working at the Center for Primary Resource and Training. She processed the Barack Obama Presidential Election Memorabilia from Kenya Collection and the papers of Miriam Matthews, the first certified African American librarian in California.
View Part 4
View Part 4
Krystal Appiah, Master's Candidate in Information Studies at UCLA, recounts her experience working at the Center for Primary Resource and Training.

Part 5: Near Eastern Manuscripts

Ali Anooshahr, former student in the CFPRT, looking at a Near Eastern Manuscript.
While in graduate school at UCLA and working in the Center for Primary Research and Training, Ali Anooshahr brought paleographic training and language proficiency in Persian, Arabic and Ottoman Turkish to the task of describing and processing the UCLA Library's collection of Near Eastern Manuscripts. He is currently Assistant Professor of History at UC Davis.
View Part 5
View Part 5
Ali Anooshahr, former student in the CFPRT, looking at a Near Eastern Manuscript.

Treasures of the UCLA Library was written, directed and produced by Erin Flannery. The films were made possible through support from the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, Irving and Jean Stone Endowment and University Librarian Discretionary Fund.

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