USC Libraries

The story of Hernán Cortés’ 1535 misadventure in Baja California is told in W. Michael Mathes’ The Conquistador in California. The book is one of several on display inside USC’s Doheny Memorial Library as part of an exhibit honoring Mathes, a historian and USC alumnus who died August 13, 2012. Click through to learn more about the Cortés expedition and Mathes' award-winning career.

On his Ask Chris blog, Los Angeles magazine's Chris Nichols recently featured a unique artifact from USC Libraries' Rubén Salazar Papers collection: the late journalist's briefcase. Nichols' post is part of his series telling the history of Los Angeles through 232 objects, on the occasion of the 232nd anniversary of the city's founding. 

A new exhibit in Doheny Memorial Library honors the late historian and USC alumnus W. Michael Mathes, who died August 13. The author, editor, and translator of countless works, Mathes earned his MA from USC in 1962. "He was the Kevin Starr of Baja California," said librarian Barbara Robinson of the USC Libraries' Boeckmann Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies. Keep reading to learn more about the exhibit.

Last year, the family of the late journalist Ruben Salazar donated his personal archives to the USC Libraries. Now, a new digital project based on the collection will provide greater public awareness of the award-winning reporter's life and career. Created by USC Annenberg students and directed by USC Annenberg professors Felix Gutierrez and Robert Hernandez, the Ruben Salazar Project features student-written articles about Salazar that incorporate selected documents from the collection. Students also created an interactive timeline that highlights photographs, news clippings, and personal documents from the archive.

In recent months, the USC Libraries have added several electronic resources that complement the rich collections of the Boeckmann Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies. The new resources include an online archive of more than 125,000 pages from Latin American newspapers. Keep reading to learn more about the recent acquisitions now available to USC students, faculty, and staff researching Latin America.

A new exhibit on the second floor of Doheny Memorial Library highlights some of the holiday-themed materials found within the USC Libraries' Special Collections. Season's Greetings from Southern California features photographs and postcards depicting Southern California as a winter wonderland, all culled from the libraries'Regional History Collection. Also included are two books from the Boeckmann Center for Iberian and Latin American Studies—Pedro: The Angel of Olvera Street by Leo Politi and Las Posadas: A Christmas Story by James Howard Fraser—and a 1961 photograph from the USC University Archives showing a Christmas tree in front of USC's Bovard Hall. Stop by the Special Collections display case before January 23 to see the exhibit.

Yesterday, USC faculty, staff, and students remembered the legacy of the late journalist Rubén Salazar at a special event—featured on the front page of today's Daily Trojan newspaper—in USC's Doheny Memorial Library. The USC Latino Forum organized the event, which coincided with the unveiling of selections from Salazar's papers. Keep reading to learn more about the Salazar archive and Tuesday's event.

Visit the USC Libraries' Special Collections on the second floor of Doheny Memorial Library between 1:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 20 to browse selected items from the Rubén Salazar archive. At 4:30 p.m. in the Doheny Library's Intellectual Commons, the USC Latino Forum will host a reception featuring a special tribute to the late journalist. Keep reading to learn more about the recently-acquired collection and the event on September 20.

Latino journalist Rubén Salazar, whose papers the USC Libraries recently acquired, was killed 41 years ago today while covering the National Chicano Moratorium. Keep reading to learn more about the award-winning journalist, his controversial 1970 death in East Los Angeles, and his personal and professional archives, which are featured in today's edition of the USC Chronicle.

Earlier today, we announced that the family of the late journalist Rubén Salazar had donated his archives to the USC Libraries. The story has received significant media attention in Los Angeles and beyond. Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Robert J. Lopez described Salazar as “a trailblazer whose work helped inspire a generation of Latino reporters who followed in his wake,” and quoted the libraries’ Barbara Robinson, who said, “"I hope this will be an inspiration and educational tool for a lot of years.” 89.3 KPCC, La Opinion, the Los Angeles Daily News, and the USC News website also featured the acquisition.