USC Libraries

In September 2011, the USC Libraries hosted To Stay or Not to Stay?, the fifth biennial conference of the International Feuchtwanger Society (IFS). The three-day gathering explored one of the key decisions faced by German-speaking exiles in Los Angeles: whether to remain in Southern California or return to Europe. Now, the proceedings have been published in book form. Edited by IFS president Ian Wallace, the book includes contributions by two USC librarians. Marje Schuetze-Coburn, senior associate dean of the USC Libraries and Feuchtwanger Librarian, wrote "Lion Feuchtwanger in Los Angeles," and Exile Studies Librarian Michaela Ullmann contributed "Literary Agent, Advisor, Entrepreneur: Felix Guggenheim’s Life and Business on Two Continents."

The ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives recently processed 59 collections as part of a project that received a $133,577 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). The project includes many diverse collections that document the beginnings of the LGBT civil rights movement in the United States and the daily lives of prominent artists, activists, and writers. The newly processed collections include photographs dating to 1850 and the records of organizations such as the Lambda Literary Foundation and LGBT running clubs. Another highlight is the papers of intersex activist Lynn Edward Harris. Keep reading for a complete list of the newly processed collections.

In an instant, Doheny Library's Nazarian Pavilion courtyard became the scene today of the first in a series of live, pop-up plays staged by the USC Libraries and USC School of Dramatic Arts Professor Oliver Mayer. Directed by USC School of Dramatic Arts graduate Jonathan Munoz-Proulx, the performance featured USC student actors and captured the essential role of libraries in creative and intellectual discovery. Guest star David Zayas (also known by television viewers as Sgt. Angel Batista) played himself, touting the wealth of resources available at the USC Libraries. "Aren't you on TV," a student actor asked him in the flash play. "Aren't you on Dexter?" Click through for photos from the flash play.

USC graduate student Andrew Woodham took first prize in the ninth-annual USC Libraries Wonderland Award competition for “A Reflection on Lewis Carroll.” Judges chose the 3-foot by 4-foot 64-word crossword puzzle from a field of 42 imaginative submissions by students from USC and other participating institutions. Woodham, a Ph.D. candidate at the Keck School of Medicine at USC, accepted the award at a ceremony in Doheny Memorial Library on Friday, April 5. His win marks the first time in Wonderland history that one student has earned the top prize in two consecutive years. Keep reading to learn more about Wonderland Award and the April 5 ceremony.

The USC Libraries have begun a collaboration with USC School of Dramatic Arts professor Oliver Mayer to showcase the essential role of libraries in discovery and the creative arts through an upcoming series of flash plays. The original plays—short, one-act pieces written by Dramatic Arts students, faculty, and alumni—will appear spontaneously across campus beginning this spring and continuing throughout the fall 2013 semester. The first flash play in the series, which will be performed at a specific time and location to be announced through Twitter (@USCLibraries) and other social media, will take place near Doheny Memorial Library during the week of April 22. Keep reading to learn more about the flash play series.

On April 29, 1992, chaos erupted on the streets of Los Angeles after a mostly white jury acquitted four Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers in the beating of a black motorist, Rodney King. The rioting lasted six days, and the National Guard was called in to patrol the streets around USC. Twenty-one years later, the city is still trying to make sense of the unrest. Now, two newly unsealed collections at the USC Libraries will help scholars better understand the violence, its causes, and its legacy. The collections—recently processed with support from the Council on Library and Information Resources—contain the records of two independent commissions set up to investigate the Los Angeles Police Department in the wake of the King beating and the 1992 riots. Keep reading to learn more about the collections, and about a related Visions and Voices panel discussion on April 29.

The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) recently awarded $203,200 to Out West: The LGBTQ Community Archive Cataloging Project, a collaborative effort to process rare archival materials held by the ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives and the GLBT Historical Society in San Francisco. Included in the project are 111 archival collections featuring a wealth of rare materials, ranging from the suit worn by Harvey Milk when he was assassinated to early gay and lesbian wedding photos, matchbooks from 1950s gay bars, and memorabilia from José Sarria’s 1961 campaign for San Francisco city supervisor. Keep reading for photos and details about the project.

A copy of Robbert Flick's Parade Route: Pasadena, May 8 and May 9, 1993 from the USC Libraries' Special Collections is currently on display at the Gagosian Gallery in New York. The book is part of an exhibition of artist books by Ed Ruscha and more than 100 contemporary artists. The libraries' copy of Parade Route—one of only three in existence—was previously featured in a 2007 exhibition of artists books in Doheny Library.

The Scout Report, a weekly publication of the Internet Scout Project, recently highlighted the USC Libaries' Los Angeles Examiner Collection. Keep reading to learn more about the collection, publicly accessible through the USC Digital Library.

For decades, dancer and choreographer Rudy Perez pushed the envelope of dance, inspiring audiences and fellow practitioners to reimagine the art form’s possibilities. When the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance opens in 2015, Perez may inspire a new generation of dancers through his personal archive, part of the USC Libraries’ Special Collections. Keep reading to learn more about the Rudy Perez Archive.