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Fanzines Collection
Located in: Special Collections & University Archives
The Eaton Collection holds the largest collection of fanzines at any public institution. The collection began with a donation from popular writer, Terry Carr, with important contributions by Fred Patten, Bruce Pelz, Rick Sneary, Richard Brown, Marty Cantor, Mike Glyer, William Haskell, and David Langford.
Klein photographs collection now more accessible
Nearly 6,000 digitized images from the Jay Kay Klein photographs collection are now more accessible, thanks to new, more descriptive and contextual information.
In collaboration with the science fiction fandom community, the UCR Library staff updated the image details and descriptions for the 5,933 images, which were first digitized in 2017. (View the collection on Calisphere.)
In 2017, an initial batch of 5,933 images from the Jay Kay Klein photographs and papers on science fiction fandom were digitized as part of a pilot project with the California Digital Library (part of the UC system and the group that hosts Calisphere). The images were first published with minimal descriptive information.
After publication, both internal review and robust feedback from the fandom community identified many opportunities to improve accuracy, detail, and context provided in titles and descriptive information about the photographs.
In subsequent years, UCR Library continued to gather community feedback by adding a new commenting feature to the collection, and the Metadata and Technical Services department worked continuously to make updates and corrections.
Yet the bulk of the images still needed careful review and the size and scope of a complete metadata overhaul presented a substantial barrier to launching a follow-up project. Special Collections Processing Archivist Andrew Lippert took steps to begin a review shortly before the university campus closed in March 2020, but the transition to working from home during the pandemic and the need for remote work within the Special Collections and University Archives department created an opportunity to commit fully to this monumental task.
The review began in February 2020 and ramped up during the spring quarter. Between May 2020 and May 2021, Lippert reviewed each of the nearly six thousand photographs and enriched the metadata based on community comments, information within the photographs, convention program books, Klein’s own “Convention Annual” photo books, and Lippert’s ability to identify the photos.
“Special acknowledgement is also due to the FANAC Fan History Project and Fancyclopedia 3; they were both invaluable resources for this project,” Lippert said. “It is difficult to say that this work will ever truly be ‘finished,’ as there are always more identifications to make and more contextual information to add. However, this new version of the metadata will certainly make these photographs more accessible by orders of magnitude.”
“Working on this project was a labor of love that immersed me in science fiction fandom and convention culture spanning several decades from the 1950s through the 1970s,” Lippert added. “Engaging with a single large archival collection on a daily basis always creates a sense of familiarity with the individual(s) and the subject matter that make up that collection; it was no different with Klein’s photos.” Lippert came to feel that he was getting to know some of the mainstays of the SF scene of that era as he found them in photo after photo at convention after convention. “My work on this project led me down countless rabbit holes, paths of discovery, and gave me so much invaluable context for the varied materials of the Eaton Collection as a whole,” he added.
Lippert would like to thank the community members who have contributed information, context, and identifications to the digitized photo collection since they were originally published in 2017. Additionally, special recognition is due to Lippert’s colleagues at the UCR Library, Noah Geraci, Digital Assets Metadata Librarian, and Sandy Enriquez, Special Collections Public Services, Outreach & Community Engagement Librarian, for their invaluable contributions, support and assistance on this project.
Eaton Collection and George Brown papers highlighted on C-Span Cities Tour
Two of our UC Riverside librarians were recently interviewed by C-SPAN as part of their 2018 "Cities Tour."
C-SPAN interviewed JJ Jacobson, Jay Kay and Doris Klein Librarian for Science Fiction, in a Local Content Vehicles (LCV) “Cities Tour” segment looking at UCR’s Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy.
C-SPAN also interviewed Jessica Geiser, collections management librarian in the Special Collections & University Archives, about congressional papers of U.S. Rep. George Brown Jr., housed at the UCR Library.
Eaton at the Movies
A celebration of science fiction film and television-related materials from the Eaton Collection of Science Fiction and Fantasy.
This exhibit takes up the themes of wonder and terror as it relates to SF film and television, and showcases a variety of materials from the Eaton Collection.
From periodicals to intimate photographs, rare books to concept art, many of these items are being exhibited for the first time, and represent holdings from multiple archival and print collections.
Visit Special Collections & University Archives to view the exhibit or learn more by downloading the exhibit guide here.
| Event | Eaton at the Movies |
| Location | Tomás Rivera Library, 4th Floor in Special Collections & University Archives (SCUA) |
| Dates | Monday, February 12, 2024 - Summer 2024 |
| Hours |
View this exhibit during SCUA's operating hours. Please note, SCUA will be closed on Monday, February 19 in observance of Presidents' Day. SCUA's normal operating hours are below: Monday - Friday: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. |
| Parking |
Free Visitor Parking is available on Fridays, starting at 12:00 PM through 6:00 AM Monday morning in the unreserved spaces of the following parking lots/structures:
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How UCR Library Is "Living the Promise"
At noon on Thursday, October 13, UC Riverside launched the kick-off for Living the Promise: The Campaign for UC Riverside at UCR’s iconic bell tower.
This comprehensive campaign is the first of its kind for the University of California, Riverside, with a target completion date in the year 2020.
A week of celebratory events followed the launch including large and small festivities and research symposia on campus and around the region.
Campaign co-chair Dr. Thomas Haider declared, “We are very proud to announce that the goal for Living the Promise: The Campaign for UC Riverside is $300 million. It’s a very ambitious goal, but we are more than halfway there.” To date, UC Riverside has secured $155 million in gifts, more than 51% of the goal.
UCR Library has its own goal as part of the comprehensive campaign. Fundraising efforts by the Library’s development team to date have generated more than 71% of our target in contributions.
University Librarian Steven Mandeville-Gamble stated, “We’ve had such a strong start that I would love to see the library blow right past our goal.”
He added, “The library’s campaign priorities include facility enhancements, endowed support for collections, funding for paid undergraduate and graduate student internships, endowed librarianships, and a Science Fiction research center in collaboration with CHASS.”
What would reaching these goals mean in terms of impact the library could have on UCR’s students and faculty?
Right now, the library’s impact is somewhat restricted by the assets, talent, or funding that we currently have. Having more resources would allow the library to:
- enhance existing library spaces to serve the next generation of Highlanders
- design and build new library spaces to increase community engagement
- create more employment and internship opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students
- foster innovation and entrepreneurship
- enhance our information resources in quantity, quality, and diversity
- support leadership positions that will help guide us toward the library’s and the university’s strategic vision
Reaching our campaign goals will truly enable us to become a library of the future.
“It’s time for us to make the mark in the world that we and our students and our faculty and our staff all deserve,” commented Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox during the campaign kick-off.
The campaign has designated six key themes, “Solutions that change lives,” including: social innovation and empowerment, new voices and visions, health and wellness, from genomics to harvest, emerging technologies, and renewable nature.
As one of the few university departments connected to every field of study on campus, the UCR Library is uniquely poised to support all six of the comprehensive campaign’s themes.
Manuscript Collections
Located in: Special Collections & University Archives
The UCR Library holds over 275 manuscript collections of both personal and family papers and organizational records that document a wide range of subject areas. Primary source materials that are contained in the manuscript collections include documents, photographs, diaries, correspondence, maps, sound/video recordings, artifacts, and more.
The major emphases of the library's manuscript collections are:
Anne McCaffrey Papers
Located in: Special Collections & University Archives
Anne Inez McCaffrey (1926-2011) was an opera singer and director, horse breeder, and writer.
She is best known as the author of the wildly popular Dragonriders of Pern series. Her Ship Who Sang stories and novels are also notable for their unusually sensitive treatment of disability. The material in the collection documents McCaffrey's writing process and includes the subject-based research that she did for her writing between 1957 and 1999.