Presenters: Theresa Salazar, tsalazar@library.berkeley.edu; Teresa Mora, tmora@library.berkeley.edu
Reference questions can be directed to: bancref@library.berkeley.edu
The Bancroft Library is the primary special collections library at the University of California, Berkeley. One of the largest and most heavily used libraries of manuscripts, rare books, and unique materials in the United States, Bancroft supports major research and instructional activities and plays a leading role in the development of the University's research collections.
The Bancroft Collection of Western and Latin Americana
Hubert Howe Bancroft, a bookseller, publisher, historian and collector gathered materials related to the history of California and The American West in the 19th century. These materials form the nucleus of The Bancroft Library, which has continued to collect, with great energy, printed and manuscript material relating to the history of western North America, from the western Great Plains to the Pacific Ocean and from Alaska to Panama. The greatest concentration of material relates to California and the West Coast, as well as Mexico and Central America, which are collected intensively to the present. The history of most other Western American states is collected up to 1900, except such broad, overlapping issues as water and the environment, which are collected without regard to date. Also represented are early Pacific voyages of exploration and discovery; continental expansion west of the Mississippi, including the Louisiana Purchase, fur trade, overland journeys to the West; Hawaii and the Philippines, British Columbia and the Yukon. In addition to books and manuscripts, the Bancroft Collection, as it has come to be called, includes maps, newspapers, photographs and other pictorial documentation, microfilms of original documents in private hands and in foreign archives, and other materials. For more detailed information see:
The Bancroft is open from 10am to 5pm Monday-Friday (closed on weekends and holidays; shorter hours during Intersession). Paging ends 30 minutes before closing; this means that if you want to use Bancroft materials until 5pm, you need to arrive and request your materials at the circulation desk before 4:30pm.
Store your belongings in the lockers provided, located on the right-hand side of the east entrance. Pass the security guard station and proceed up one level by stairs or elevator to the Reading Room and Seminar Rooms (3rd floor).
Check in at the Registration Desk, located on the left-hand side of the entrance to the Reference Center.
Go to the Circulation Desk, where you will fill out a form for the items you need. The items will be paged and brought to you. (Remember to bring call numbers, titles, etc. with you!)
For research-related questions, ask for assistance at the Reference Desk.
Obtaining Copies of Materials:
Photocopies- all photocopying is done by Bancroft staff and not all material may be photocopied. Photocopies will be available for pick-up the day after they are ordered and cost either .30 or .60/ page. Detailed information on ordering photocopies can be found at http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/dsu/policies.html#manuscript. Photographs- you may take photographs of materials in the reading room after registering to do so and paying a fee of $10/ day. You may take as many photos as you wish that day. See http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/info/camera.html for information on using a camera in the reading room. For more information on duplication of Bancroft materials see: http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/dsu/index.html
About the Latin Americana Collection