Streisand Backstage, 1969, Academy Awards Show photographs, Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Please join the Los Angeles Archivists Collective for a tour of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Margaret Herrick Library on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at 3:30 pm.

The Margaret Herrick Library is a world-renowned, non-circulating reference and research collection devoted to the history and development of the motion picture as an art form and an industry. Established in 1928, a year after the Academy was founded, the library moved to its current Beverly Hills location in 1991. Its holdings include over 30,000 books, 3000 periodical titles, 10 million photographs, 42,000 posters, 15,000 scripts, and 1900 Special Collections that document the activities of companies and organizations as well as the careers of individuals who have made a significant contribution to the film industry. Special Collections include unique items such as production records, correspondence, storyboards, contracts, scrapbooks, costume and set drawings and much more.

To attend, please RSVP here. Parking instructions will be provided to those who RSVP.

Tour is currently full. Email laacollective@gmail.com to place your name on the waiting list. 

The Los Angeles Archivists Collective is thrilled to announce a tour of the USC Digital Repository on Wednesday, February 24, 2016 at 3:00 pm.

The USC Digital Repository (USCDR) is a collaborative effort between the USC Libraries, the USC Shoah Foundation Institute (SFI), and USC’s Information Technology Services (ITS). Each of these units brings a unique portfolio of technical and content experience, supporting an unrivaled combination of research, pedagogy, preservation, and infrastructure expertise. The repository builds on USC’s strengths in technology and research to capture and preserve collections of significant educational, cultural, and research value. As a result, the USCDR is uniquely positioned to provide the professional expertise and technological resources to allow organizations to cost-effectively create, manage, and preserve sophisticated digital collections.

Website: http://repository.usc.edu

Only 10 spots available! RSVP here: http://goo.gl/forms/sU7GGzxWS2

*Please make sure to include your email - Address and parking details will be emailed.

**Everyone attending will need to bring a government issued identification.

Beach and Roller Coaster, Ocean Park, California, circa 1910. Courtesy of the Department of Archives and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University.

Please join LAAC for a tour of Loyola Marymount University's Archives and Special Collections on Monday, November 23 at 3:30 PM. The tour will be followed by a talk by Special Collections and Metadata Librarian, Rachel Wen-Paloutzian on utilizing the LMU Postcard Collections for primary source instruction with undergraduate students.

RSVP here: http://goo.gl/forms/cy6Dl8AJgw
Parking instructions will be provided to those who RSVP.

ABOUT
William H. Hannon Library's Department of Archives and Special Collections at Loyola Marymount University is home to a wide variety of art and artifacts, rare books, manuscripts, postcards, and the University Archives. The Department seeks to enhance learning and scholarship at the University and worldwide through diverse collections, services, and collaborative programs.

Rachel Wen-Paloutzian is the Special Collections Metadata Librarian at LMU. She manages the creation and quality control of descriptive metadata for the LMU Digital Collections. Also, she offers special collections instruction and catalogs rare books. Ms. Wen-Paloutzian is the Curator of the LMU Postcard Collections.

We’ve reached the tour capacity and we are no longer accepting RSVPs. If you are interested in attending but didn’t have a chance to RSVP in time, please send us an email and let us know if you would like to join the waiting list or perhaps another tour in the future. Thank you so much for your interest!

TOM OF FINLAND (Touko Laaksonen, Finnish, 1920 – 1991) Untitled, 1983, Graphite on paper, © 1983 Tom of Finland Foundation

The Los Angeles Archivists Collective & ARLIS/NA Southern California Chapter is thrilled to announce a tour of Tom of Finland Foundation and its archives on Saturday, November 21, 2015 at 2:00 pm.

Tom of Finland Foundation is a nonprofit organization and Educational Archive, cofounded by Tom of Finland (Touko Laaksonen) and Durk Dehner in 1984. The Foundation’s mission is to protect, preserve and promote the works of Tom of Finland and his fellow erotic artists. The Permanent Collection houses more than 1,500 original works by Tom and another 2,000 works by hundreds of other artists, and the archives, with well over 100,000 images, documents, and records, together comprise the world’s largest repository of erotic art.

The tour will be followed by an on-site happy hour (must be 21 years old to attend). Only 15 spots available!

Please RSVP here: http://goo.gl/forms/IEEMfQl2ln. Further details and address will be provided by email.

Please join LAAC for an exclusive tour of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) on Thursday 09/24 at 5:00 PM.

RSVP here: http://goo.gl/forms/GguBCstzgX
Directions and parking info will be provided to those who RSVP.

David Keller will lead the tour of the exhibit FROM THE ARCHIVES Reaching for Water: Rex Brandt and Metropolitan. This exhibit highlights the work of famed “California Scene Painter” Rex Brandt and his painting of Metropolitan’s Colorado River Aqueduct in 1936.

Following the exhibit will be an informal question and answer session about Metropolitan’s archival collections and access to them. Those who wish can adjourn to Philippe’s for dinner to continue discussion.

ABOUT
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) was founded in 1928 by a group of 13 cities. It has 26 member agencies and supplies drinking water to 19 million people. It covers a 5,200 square mile area from Ventura County to San Diego County and employs some 1,800 people.

The Metropolitan’s Historical Collection or Archives is a subset of MWD’s Records Management Program. The Records Team consists of eight members. David Keller was hired in 2003 to build the historical collection. Previous to this there was no archivist.

THE COLLECTION
The MWD Historical Collection contains traditional paper files. Some of its key examples include: 231 boxes of Executive Secretary Historical Records, 26 boxes of Historical Press Clips, 54 boxes containing approximately 120,000 4” x 5” historical negatives. Other film includes a large backlog of magnetic tape, and an even larger backlog of some estimated 200 K Photographs including: panoramic, glass and 35 mm slides, along with large numbers of prints. For employees and researchers, over 30,000 images have been digitized in an internal system powered by Cumulus called the MWD Image Collection. Several publication series exist, including the early employee newspaper, “Aqueduct News,” which is also digitized from 1934 – 1949.