The Library’s Department of Special Research Collections holds unique and rare materials that are preserved and made available for researchers and scholars worldwide. The collection is wide-ranging and diverse, including materials from rare books to aerial map imagery to music cylinders.
The Performing Arts Collection currently contains over 300,000 historical sound recordings, including one of the largest collections of brown wax cylinders, an early sound recording format. By making a gift, you can help us preserve these historic materials by covering the costs of rehousing, cataloging, and digitizing them for public access.
The Santa Barbara Community Archives Project is an initiative to document the rich and diverse communities that make up Santa Barbara by collecting documents that tell stories from the community's perspective. The Community Archives Fund will primarily support the preservation, processing, cataloging, and digitization of collection materials related to Santa Barbara County History. Funds will also support efforts to diversify collection materials by seeking out partnerships for new acquisitions, outreach and programming initiatives, and increasing our representation of Santa Barbara's collective history.
The annual UCSB Library Award for Undergraduate Research (LAUR) recognizes students who produce scholarly or creative work that makes expert and sophisticated use of the collections, resources, and services of the UCSB Library.
The Librarian's Enrichment Fund supports initiatives and programs that respond to specific faculty and student needs and allows the Library to remain flexible and relevant in times of transition.
UCSB Reads is an award-winning program that brings the campus and Santa Barbara communities together to read a common book that explores compelling issues of our time. Each year, a committee of faculty, staff, students, and community partners convenes to select an intellectually stimulating, interdisciplinary book by a living author that appeals to a wide range of readers and can be incorporated into the UCSB curriculum.
The Library’s collection of original fine art, made possible through the generosity of donors, enriches our spaces and inspires creativity. Featuring works across diverse mediums, the collection reflects the Library’s role as a hub for discovery, culture, and connection.
