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Library Special CollectionsWhat We Collect

Twentieth-and Twenty-first Century Literature

The archives and personal papers of writers of a broad range of experiences and genres complement the UCLA Library Special Collections’ print holdings of twentieth and twenty-first-century literature. Ranging from writers, including Angelenos as well as those who emigrated from other parts of the U.S. and other countries, many have imagined both Utopian and dystopian Californias in genres and forms including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and journalism.

For more information, contact:

Genie Guerard
Curator, Manuscripts Librarian
phone icon 310.206.0521
email icon gguerard@library.ucla.edu

Current Collecting Priorities

  • Archives of writers whose voices have not been heard or are under-recognized in the Academy, with a focus on Los Angeles writers of color; LGBTQ, and writers of all abilities.
  • Authors who have immigrated, or whose parents or families have immigrated from Mexico and Latin American countries, Africa, Asia, the Near East, Southeast Asia, and diasporas across the globe, with emphasis on the interconnections of the many cultural influences and stories that comprise Los Angeles’ unique identity.
  • Writers who have explored new forms of written and performative expressions.
  • Records of local writers’ collectives, book stores, and literary centers where contemporary writers and artists have gathered and read or performed their works.

Collecting Criteria

  • Content pertinent to UCLA faculty teaching twentieth-and twenty-first-century literature.
  • Content that supports collecting and teaching areas of library partners and subject librarians, including English, International Studies, East Asian Library, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Studies.

Out of Scope

  • Comprehensive collections to include multiple drafts of a given work of an author.
  • Large objects and artifacts owned by writers and poets, including awards.

More About the Collection

For more information about the collections and materials available online see:

Past exhibits in Library Special Collections