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Mexican Studies: UCSD Special Collections and Archives and Digital Collections

Guide to Resources for Research on Mexico at UCSD and the greater San Diego-Baja Region and beyond

Using Special Collectison at UCSD

Many Special Collections and Archives (SC&A) materials are cataloged in UC Library Search and finding aids for manuscript collections are available on the Special Collections website, along with policies and more information about SC&A collections.

All Special Collections & Archives materials are stored in an environmentally controlled, secured area and all users must register and place requests to see the materials. If the items are located onsite, we will pull on demand when you arrive at the library. Keep an eye out for materials that are located offsite (it will say so in UC Library Search), as delivery times for these items may be up to a week.

Register online to use Special Collections & Archives: https://spcoll-request.ucsd.edu/logon. Once registered, you can place requests online directly from the catalog and finding aids, or log in to your account to queue requests for a future visit and to view previous requests.

In addition to registering you will also need to show your photo ID when you visit Special Collections.

UCSD Digital Collections with Mexican Material

Digitization has made many of UCSD’s special collections more widely accessible through UCSD Digital Collections.

Digital Collections with Latin American or Latino/Hispanic-American content include:

  • Baja California (Images of Baja California digitized from original photographs by Harry Crosby, Howard Gulick, and Marquis McDonald)
  • Armed Revolutionary Organizations in Mexico (Printed and manuscript materials created between 1965 and 1998 by 23 distinct revolutionary groups in Mexico. The collection is particularly strong in ephemeral communiques and revolutionary periodicals such as "13 de junio," "Madera" and "Militante." Images were digitized from originals held by the UC San Diego Library). See also the Colegio de Mexico's complementary collection Movimientos Armados en Mexico.
  • Harry Crosby Photographs (Includes photographs of Baja California, 1967-1962 and Sonora, Mexico, 1958-1986).
  • Herman Baca (A selection of documents illustrating the work and activities of Chicano activist Herman Baca and the Committee on Chicano Rights, 1964-2006)
  • Latin American Political Campaign Ephemera Collection (Pamphlets, posters, other campaign materials from various Latin American countries, 1990s-2009)
  • Marquis McDonald Photographs (Photographs by Marquis McDonald during a 1949-1950 overland trip down the Baja California Peninsula)
  • The Spanish Civil War Collection and the Spanish Civil War Memory Project
  • The Mexican Broadsides (Broadsides (single and double-sided, one-sheet documents) produced in Mexico between the early 1600s and 1899. They include religious and government documents on a wide range of topics. The government documents include correspondence between representatives from a range of state and federal agencies, gubernatorial and presidential administrations, and state and national legislatures.
  • The Insite Archive (Materials documenting the inSite organization and the projects of its artists (1992-2006).  Created as a network of contemporary art programs and commissioned projects among non-profit and public institutions, inSite explored public or contextual art practice in the specific context of the San Diego-Tijuana border region. In 1980, Installation Gallery was opened in San Diego with a goal to present local and regional artists. In 1992, inSite was formed, replacing Installation Gallery. InSite has had five major versions: inSITE92, inSITE94, inSITE97, inSITE2000, and inSite_05).

Finding UCSD Special Collections Material with Mexican Content

Encompassing UC San Diego's Mandeville Special Collections and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Archives, UCSD's Special Collections & Archives houses a wide range of rare books, manuscripts, maps, photographs, artworks, recordings, and archives. These primary source materials support UCSD's instructional and research programs, and distinguish UCSD's library collections from all other research universities.  These special collections include significant holdings related to Mexico.  See especially the:

Mexican content can also be found in:

  • The inSite Archive.  InSite produced collaborative contemporary public art projects in the San Diego-Tijuana region. The archive includes publications, administrative files, audio and video materials, and digital materials which document the numerous projects created by inSite artists, as well as the daily functions of the organization between 1992 and 2006.
  • The Southworth Spanish Civil War Collection
  • Among the many Artist's Books in Special Collections: To identify, do an advanced search in the UCSD Catalog, limiting the location to Special Collections and searching with the term artist's book and keywords such as Border, Mexico or by the artist's name