US-Mexican Border Studies: Primary Sources at UCSD

Using Special Collections at UCSD

All Special Collections and Archives (SC&A) materials are cataloged in UC Library Search and finding aids for manuscript collections are available on the SC&A website our, along with policies and more information about UCSD's Special 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. Please note that delivery for materials located offsite may take up to a week.

Register online to use Special Collections & Archives: . 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 Special Collections with content on San Diego or Mexican areas borderng the U.S.

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, including regions bordering the US (especially San Diego).

One way to find relevant collections is to search "SC&A FInding Aids" with Baja California and/or Mexico and/or other terms.

UCSD Digital Collections

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

Digital Collections including materials from San Diego or parts of Mexico bordering the US include:

American Friends Service Committee (Redacted abuse and compliant files from the records of the American Friends Service Commitee -- U.S.-Mexico Border Program, 1977-2001
Baja California (Images of Baja California digitized from original photographs by Harry Crosby, Howard Gulick, and Marquis McDonald)
Harry Crosby Photographs (Includes photographs of Baja California, 1967-1962 and Sonora, Mexico, 1958-1986).
Marquis McDonald Photographs (Photographs by Marquis McDonald during a 1949-1950 overland trip down the Baja California Peninsula)
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.
Herman Baca (A selection of documents illustrating the work and activities of Chicano activist Herman Baca and the Committee on Chicano Rights, 1964-2006)

California Digital Resources Including Material on the Border Region

California Digital Newspaper Collection
Coordinates preservation of California newspapers printed since 1846. Catalog shows publishing history and library locations for nearly 13,000 papers. Part of the state-by-state U.S. Newspaper Project. Based at UC Riverside.

Calisphere
Calisphere is the University of California's free public gateway to a world of primary sources. More than 200,000 digitized items — including photographs, documents, newspaper pages, political cartoons, works of art, diaries, transcribed oral histories, advertising, and other unique cultural artifacts — reveal the diverse history and culture of California and its role in national and world history. Calisphere's content has been selected from the libraries and museums of the UC campuses, and from a variety of cultural heritage organizations across California.
County and Regional Histories & Atlases: California
Included in this collection on California are ninety-seven titles covering eight cities and regions. These titles comprise tables and lists of vital statistics, military service records, municipal and county officers, chronologies, portraits of individuals and views of urban and rural life not found anywhere else. The atlases provide additional information on land use and settlement patterns and scarce early town and city plans.

Primary Source Databases Specializing in Content for Study of US-Mexican Border Studies

America's Historical Newspapers
Over 2000 papers from cities in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, based on Early American Newspapers, Series 1, 2, 10, 11 (1690-1890). Also includes Hispanic American Newspapers, 1808-1980, African-American Newspapers, 1827-1998, and California's Historical Newspapers, 1752-1922. Title coverage ranges from a few issues to many years.
American West
Original manuscripts, maps, ephemeral material, and rare printed sources from the Graff Collection about the American West, including tales of frontier life, Native Americans, vigilantes, and outlaws, and the growth of urban centres and environmental impact of westward expansion and of life in the borderlands.

American Indian Movement And Native American Radicalism
The American Indian Movement (AIM) was founded in 1968, at a time of social change and protest and the civil rights movement. AIM used the press and media to present its own unvarnished message to the American public. This collection includes the extensive FBI documentation on the evolution of AIM as an organization of social protest, documentation on the 1973 Wounded Knee Stand-off, materials collected by the Extremist Intelligence Section. These primary sources provide insight into the motives, actions, and leadership of AIM and the development of Native American radicalism, as well as the attitudes of the US government towards this organization.

Indigenous Histories and Cultures in North America
A wide-ranging digital resource presenting a unique insight into interactions between American Indians and Europeans from their earliest contact, continuing through the turbulence of the American Civil War, the on-going repercussions of government legislation, right up to the civil rights movement of the mid-twentieth century. This resource contains material from the Newberry Library's extensive Edward E. Ayer Collection. Includes manuscripts, artwork and rare printed books, photographs and newspapers.

Arte Publico Hispanic Historical Collection: Series 1
a digital collection of historical content pertaining to U.S. Hispanic history, literature and culture. Includes over 60,000 historical articles, hundreds of political and religious pamphlets and broadsides, and complete texts of over 1,100 historical books of Hispanic literature, political commentary and culture

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Reports
1941-1996. Translations by U.S. government of international magazine, newspaper, and newswire stories, transcripts from speeches and radio and television. Scanned from print Daily Report issues covering areas such as China, East Asia, Latin America.
HAPI: Hispanic American Periodicals Index
1970-present. Lists journal articles on Central and South America, Mexico, the Caribbean, the U.S.-Mexico border region, and Hispanics in the U.S.
ProQuest Historical Newspapers
Cover to cover article text and page images of the Chicago Tribune (1849-1986), Los Angeles Times (1881-1986), New York Times (1851-2005), San Francisco Chronicle (1865-1922), Washington Post (1877-1992), Wall Street Journal (1889-1991).

Also includes:
Civil War Era‎
Atlanta Daily World (1931 - 2003)
The American Hebrew & Jewish Messenger‎ (1857 - 1922)
The American Israelite‎ (1854 - 2000)
The Arizona Republican‎ (1890 - 2007)
The Atlanta Constitution (1868-1984)
The Austin American Statesman‎ (1871 - 1978)
The Baltimore Sun (1837 - 1992)
The Boston Globe (1872-1986)
Calgary Herald: (1883-2010)
Chicago Defender (1909-1995)
Chinese Newspaper Collection (1832 - 1953)
The Christian Science Monitor (1908 - 2004)
The Cincinnati Enquirer (1841 - 2009)
Cleveland Call & Post (1934 - 1991)
Communist Historical Newspaper Collection‎ (1917 - 2013)
Dayton Daily News (1898 - 1922)
Detroit Free Press (1831 - 1999)
Edmonton Journal (1903-2010)
The Globe and Mail‎ (1844 - 2014)
The Guardian and The Observer‎ (1791 - 2003)
Hartford Courant (1764 - 1992)
Indianapolis Star (1903 - 2004)
The Irish Times and The Weekly Irish Times‎ (1859 - 2016)
The Jerusalem Post‎ (1932 - 2008)
The Jewish Advocate‎ (1905 - 1990)
The Jewish Exponent‎ (1887 - 1990)
The Korea Times‎ (1956 - 2016)
Le Monde (1944 - 1995)
Leader-Post (Regina) (1883-2010)
Leftist Newspapers and Periodicals (1845 - 2015)
Los Angeles Sentinel‎ (1934 - 2005)
Louisville Courier Journal
Michigan Chronicle (1936 - 2010)
Le Monde (1944 - 1995)
Montreal Gazette (1857 - 2010
Minneapolis Star Tribune‎ (1867 - 2001)
The Nashville Tennessean (1812 - 2002)
Newsday (1940 - 1989)
New York Amsterdam News (1922 - 1993)
New York Tribune / Herald Tribune (1841 - 1962)
Norfolk Journal and Guide (1916 - 2003)
Ottawa Citizen (1846-2010)
The Philadelphia Inquirer (1860 - 2001)
Philadelphia Tribune (1912 - 2001)
Pittsburgh Courier (1911 - 2002)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazete (1786 - 2003)
The Province (Vancouver) (1898-2010)
Saskatoon Star Phoenix (1902-2009)
The Scotsman‎ (1817 - 1950)
South China Morning Post
St. Louis Post Dispatch‎ (1874 - 2003)
St. Petersburg Times / Tampa Bay Times (1901 - 2009)
Times Colonist (Victoria) (1884-2010)
The Times of India
Toronto Star‎ (1894 - 2015)
Vancouver Sun (1912-2010)
Windsor Star (1893 - 2010)