Plainly put, archives are collections of materials that are considered to have enduring historical value. Archives document the lives and activities of people, institutions, organizations, and places. The materials contained within archives were either donated to or acquired by the host institution by the individuals or organizations that created them, or by representatives of those individuals or organizations. Archives rarely arrive in a complete and organized state, but have been organized and described in order to facilitate access and research.
Special Collections are individual items, or a collection of items, that are unique, rare, or valuable in nature. Due to their special status, they are kept separate from the library's regular collection, and are generally non-circulating. Special collections might focus on a single topic or author.
All materials in the UC Merced Library Special Collections and archives are non-circulating and can be viewed only by appointment.
Primary sources are original documents that record an idea, event, or occurrence. Using primary sources in research can assist individuals with gaining valuable insights into an event or person. Some examples of primary sources include:
Secondary sources are those documents that are based upon primary sources, or those that use primary sources as sources for their materials. They can be understood as those documents that were produced by a someone removed from a person or event. Using multiple secondary sources on a person or event can give you a variety of viewpoints on that person or event. Examples of secondary sources include:
The following are selected examples of primary records preserved in our collections.
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