Rare Printed Books
- Records for the majority of the Clark’s rare printed books (C15th-early C20th) can be found in the UCLA Library Catalog. You may limit your search to the Clark’s holdings by changing the “Location” to “Clark Library.” For more information on using the UCLA Library Catalog, also known as UC Library Search, you can refer to the UC Library Search research guide.
- 5-8% of the Clark’s rare printed books can only be found in the card catalog, which is currently located in the conference room (the second of three buildings that make up the “North Range” area of our campus)
- Please be aware that the majority of books on Oscar Wilde, especially editions and translations, are housed in our rare book stacks, not in our modern reference collection
- A large portion of our pre-1800 printed books have been reported to the English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC). We are currently working to report additional holdings not noted in the ESTC
- Our largest collections of rare printed books focus on British literature and culture (particularly 1640-1760), Oscar Wilde and the 1890s, Fine Press and Book Arts, and Montana and the West. We have additional strengths in Charles Dickens, W.B. Yeats, George Cruikshank, Lord Byron, and W.M. Thackeray. We also own a considerable number of pre-1640 English playbooks, including many early Shakespeare quartos and all four folio editions of Shakespeare’s plays (some in multiple copies). Other collections include the Harmsworth Theological Collection, the C.K. Ogden Collection (lots of interesting provenance and annotations), and the Isaac Foot Pamphlet Collection (strong in the British Civil Wars).
Manuscripts and Archives
- Records for the majority of the Clark’s manuscripts can be found in either the UCLA Library catalog OR through finding aids hosted by the Online Archive of California. You can search within our page on OAC using the search box under “Find a collection at this institution” feature just below our address. You can also browse the finding aids, which are listed in alphabetical order in the right-hand column.
- Significant archival collections include the Oscar Wilde collection (literary manuscripts, correspondence, notebooks, photographs), the Eric Gill collection (working documents, ledgers, notebooks, diaries, account books), the Pole Family newsletter archive (C17th printed and manuscript newsletters), several Fine Press archives (e.g., Paul Landacre and William Everson, among others), the More House archive, and the Montana collection.
- A large portion of our early modern English bound manuscripts have been digitized and are available on Calisphere. Staff maintains a separate spreadsheet of these items. Let us know if you would like a copy.
- The Clark also owns a large “Miscellaneous Manuscripts” collection (can be found through the library catalog), as well as an early modern legal document and exchequer collection (finding aid). The connections among these items are loose yet there are many interesting letters and documents in the collection, especially related to the 1890s and long C18th.
Rare Periodicals
The library has considerable serials holdings in the early modern and 1890s/C19th collections, including a large uncataloged collection of newspapers and periodicals from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Clark Reference and Secondary Materials Collection
- The library also maintains a sizable collection of modern reference books, academic monographs, edited collections, scholarly editions, and academic journals. We collect primarily in the areas of the Long C18th and Oscar Wilde/1890s, but we have significant holdings in the history of printing and the book.
- Most reference books are located in the Reading Room, while the rest of the secondary collection is stored in our closed stacks.
- There is some duplication across this collection and the larger collections at the UCLA Young Research Library and UCLA English Reading Room.
- As with all materials at the Clark, reference and secondary materials may be paged to the reading room and are non-circulating.
- A large number of Cambridge University Press monographs are available as ebooks through the UCLA Library Catalog.
- Anyone researching at the Clark has access to all UCLA database and e-content subscriptions.
Microfilm
The Clark has a sizable microfilm collection as well as a microfilm reader. Please be in touch with reading room staff if your research requires microfilm
Southern Regional Library Facility
A few of our under-used archival collections are housed at the Southern Regional Library Facility (SRLF) on campus at UCLA. These items may be paged to the Clark but please allow five days notice for delivery.
Other
We maintain a Hinman Collator for the use of readers. Please ask reading room staff if you need it.