Center for Primary Research and Training

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About 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.

CFPRT Graduate Student Positions

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-Friday between 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
CFPRT scholars are paid $19.54 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.

Positions for this quarter have been filled.

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.

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

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

CFPRT scholar Caroline Luce doing research in LSC reading room

Part 2: Colonial Mexican Manuscripts

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

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 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

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. 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

Part 5: Near Eastern Manuscripts

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

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.