Library spaces open to UCSF ID holders. See timeline for reopening.

About Archives and Special Collections

The Archives and Special Collections Reading Room and reference services will be closed from December 8, 2023 through June 3, 2024 as we relocate our collection to our new vault. Please contact us with any questions.

Vision statement

UCSF Archives and Special Collections is a dynamic health sciences research center that contributes to innovative scholarship, actively engages users through educational activities, preserves past knowledge, enables collaborative research experiences to address contemporary challenges, and translates scientific research into patient care.

Mission statement

The mission of UCSF Archives and Special Collections is to identify, collect, organize, interpret, and maintain rare and unique material to support research and teaching of the health sciences and medical humanities and to preserve institutional memory.

Statement on inclusion and equity

The work and all activities of the Archives and Special Collections are guided by the Statement on Inclusion and Equity in Special Collections, Archives, and Distinctive Collections in the University of California Libraries:

We acknowledge historical absences in library collections, including those of the University of California Libraries. We will develop practices that counteract a paradigm of racist, sexist, and white-centered collecting, description, instruction, and access. Metadata, digital exhibits, and archival descriptions in particular have disadvantaged communities of color, limited points of subject-based access, and contributed to a culture of exclusivity and inequity. We commit to immediate and enduring work to elevate the narratives, perspectives, and expertise of the marginalized: those who identify as Black, Indigenous, persons of color, immigrants, women, disabled people, and those from the LGBTQ+ communities. We recognize that this work is iterative and ongoing, inherently risky, and messy, but entirely necessary. Read full statement.

books in the archives

Publications and projects

List of publications and other projects based on research using our archival holdings.

Internship program

The UCSF Archives Internship Program provides an opportunity for students to gain valuable hands-on experience and a course credit.

Fellowships

Three scholars on laptops working together on a coding project.

2024 Archives and Special Collections Summer Fellowship

The UCSF Library Archives and Special Collections (ASC) is seeking applicants for an eight-week remote paid fellowship to support computational research using ASC’s digital collections. The fellow will take a leading role in a collaborative data project jointly mentored by ASC, the UCSF Industry Documents Library (IDL), and the UCSF Library Data Science and Open Scholarship (DSOS) teams. There will also be opportunities to develop computational analysis skills for digital health humanities research, attend data

UCSF graduate student meeting with undergraduates at a conference table.

2024 Industry Documents Undergraduate Summer Fellowship

The UCSF Industry Documents Library (IDL) is seeking applicants for an eight-week remote paid fellowship to support computational research using the JUUL Labs Collection. The fellow will take a leading role in a collaborative data project jointly mentored by the IDL and the UCSF Library Data Science and Open Scholarship (DSOS) team. There will also be opportunities to develop computational analysis skills for digital health humanities research, attend data science courses, and participate in staff

Connect with us

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Find us

Reading Room and reference services are closed through June 3, 2024. If you have questions, please contact us.

530 Parnassus Ave, San Francisco, Fifth Floor