Research by Subject: Religious Studies: Special Collections

Searching Special Collections at SDSU

You can search through the library's special collections by visiting their finding aid database here.

You can also search the archives from the library's website by clicking on the Archives tab and entering your search terms in the box below.

Need help? Special Collections faculty and staff are available to help you find what you need via e-mail, askscua@mail.sdsu.edu. or phone, 619-594-6791.

Religious Studies Special Collections

These entries describe historical primary source collections available for research in the Special Collections department at the SDSU Library. Special Collections houses unique archival and manuscript collections, rare books and manuscripts, and graphic/ephemera collections.

People's Temple Collection,1942-2019 The Peoples Temple Collection (1942-2015) documents portions of the history of Peoples Temple, before and after the mass-suicide and murders in 1978. The collection consists of litigation materials derived Freedom of Information Act requests, copies of original unclassified documents, publications, audiovisual materials, artifacts, and artwork and pays particular attention to the events that unfolded for survivors and relatives after the tragedy. The collection is divided into six series: Peoples Temple Christian Church, Audiovisual Materials, Investigation Files, Jonestown Institute Files, Publications, and Original Works of Art.
Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) of San Diego County Records, 1907-2008 The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) of San Diego County Records document the YWCA's growth and evolution as a service organization for women and families from its inception in 1907 through the early 2000s. The collection comprises approximately 67 linear feet of materials including the organization’s administrative records dating from 1907 to 2006, financial records dating from 1908 to 2006, legal documents, correspondence, publicity, photographs, 35mm color slides, negatives, scrapbooks, audio and video tapes, computer software, floppy disks, CDs, and artifacts. Some administrative records are in paper and audio format. There is an extensive amount of material which documents programs, events, and conferences. The collection includes an extensive amount of photographic material documenting many of the YWCA's most important activities, including photos from the 1910s-1920s. The collection consists of six series: Historical Files, Administrative Information, Buildings/Facilities, Programs and Services, Events and Conferences, and Media and Artifactual Materials.
Lemon Grove Congregational Church Records, 1871-1996 The collection includes correspondence, minutes of meetings of Trustees and Deacons, financial records, annual reports, records of the Missionary Society, Sunday School, Ladies Aid, Women's Fellowship, Women's Council, Golden Circle, photographs, and miscellany. The records relate to churches and religious organizations, cultural affairs, economic conditions, education, Lemon Grove, schools, social conditions, social service agencies, and women.
Reverend George Walker Smith Papers, 1950-2000 The Reverend George Walker Smith Papers document Smith's ministerial career in San Diego at the Golden Hill United Presbyterian Church and Christ United Presbyterian Church, as well as his political, social, educational, and religious achievements. The collection includes sermons, church announcements, correspondence, Board of Education scrapbooks, news clippings, accolades, plaques and certificates of achievement, Kiwanis Club Information, and newsletters. The collection is divided into three series: Personal Files, Scrapbooks, and Awards/Plaques.
Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies Records, 1966-2006 The contents of the Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies Collection reflects financial, educational, and organizational matters that the LIJS handled over the course of its operational years 1985 – 2006, along with documents of the Jewish Studies Program at SDSU from as early as 1966, pre-dating the organization of the Lipinsky Institute in 1985. Several interim directors of the LIJS were named before Dr. Lawrence Baron was appointed as the Nasatir Endowed Chair in Modern Jewish Studies, and Director of the Lipinsky Institute for Judaic Studies at San Diego State University in 1988. The collection consists primarily of paper records, including correspondence, newspaper articles, and photographs, generated over the twenty year history of the LIJS at SDSU, as well as those years at which a Jewish Studies Program existed at SDSU, predating the foundation of the LIJS. The materials in this collection have been loosely chronologically organized.
National Conference of Christians and Jews Records, 1959-1977 The National Conference of Christians and Jews Collection documents the organization's social, financial, and political activities from the late 60's to the mid 1970's. The majority of the material is devoted to the San Diego chapter's events, administration, and committee meetings. Documentation includes correspondence, professional diaries, biographical notes, press releases, minutes, and financial statements.
Myron Shelly San Diego Hebrew Home for the Aged Collection, 1947-1995 The Myron Shelley San Diego Hebrew Home for the Aged Collection consists of the operational and fiscal records of the San Diego Hebrew Home for the Aged, dating from 1973 to 1995. It also includes some records from the North Shores B'nai B'rith Lodge (1963-1973), the Anti-Defamation League Council (1961-1978), the Community Relations Committee of the United Jewish Federation (1971-1976), the Temple Youth League of Temple Beth Israel (1947), and the Guardians of San Diego, the fundraising arm of the Hebrew Home for the Aged, or the Seacrest Village Retirement Communities (1975-1990.)
Hillel of San Diego Scrapbooks, 1947-1976 The collection consists of four scrapbooks documenting the history of the Jewish Student Organization of San Diego from 1947 to 1976, preliminary decades to the formation of Hillel of San Diego under the auspices of the United Jewish Federation in 1977. The scrapbooks include by-laws and other organizational records, flyers, newspaper clippings, photographs, and newsletters advertising student events both on and off campus. Scrapbooks are filed chronologically.
Maury M. Travis Collection, 1905-198 This collection consists of personal papers, correspondence, and press clippings which document Travis's personal life. It includes birth records, legal name change documents, and family correspondence with Travis's siblings, parents, and other extended family members. His profession as a Petroleum Geologist, along with his interest in the formation of the State of Israel, the Middle East in general, and his interest in anti-Zionism, are well represented. The collection also contains significant primary documents concerning anti-semitism in general, and in San Diego specifically, with publications of White Supremacy organizations. The collection is loosely filed chronologically.
Jiddu Krishnamurti Papers, 1935-1975 The collection includes promotional material, photographs, correspondence, audiocassettes and albums, newspaper articles, and one video.
Anti-Defamation League of San Diego Collection, 1946-1998 The contents of the Anti-Defamation League Collection reflect institutional, educational, and organizational matters that the ADL has addressed over the course of its history from 1913 to the late 1990s, the ending dates of the latest contents of this collection. It contains local, regional, and national materials. Social topics addressed by comments and actions of the ADL include Antisemitism, Christian Antisemitism, racial discrimination and reverse discrimination, hate crimes, the Holocaust, and the founding of the State of Israel. Organizations investigated by the ADL and exposed for their alleged social injustices include the John Birch Society, the Ku Klux Klan, Islamic extremists, Christian “cults”, etc. The collection consists solely of paper records, including correspondence, newspaper articles, and publications of the ADL, from 1946-1998.
Bureau of Jewish Education Records,1948-1974 The collection consists primarily of meeting minutes and committee reports. Materials are grouped together by document type.
Lasker Lodge Collection, 1887-1937 The contents of the collection consist of a bound minute book, beginning with the first meeting on June 26, 1887 and ending with a meeting on January 23, 1922. In the minute book, besides the meeting minutes, there are lists of members, dues accounting and tributes to deceased members. Also included is The Yoval (Jubilee) Book commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the lodge, containing history, photos, tributes, advertisements and pages about later B’nai B’rith groups, women, young women and young men.
Paul Schraer Collection, 1948-1987 The collection consists of by-laws, newsletters, membership lists, event announcements, correspondence, and a dues ledger book, collected by Paul Schraer and pertaining to lodge business of the B'nai B'rith Fox Lodge, B'nai B'rith Heartland Lodge, and B'nai B'rith Weinberger Lodge.
Greenwich Sermon Collection, 1812-1865 This collection is of 40 manuscript sermons dating from August 1812 to April 1865. There is no information regarding the author of these sermons, though a record was kept of each time the sermon was preached, which is penciled in on the back of each folded, hand-bound pamphlet. The last three sermons seem to be written in a different hand.
First Friends Church of San Diego Records, 1900-1971 The collection consists of Monthly Meeting minutes, as well as Ministry, Counsel, and Oversight minutes.

Print Collections

Alternative Religious Movements Collection:

This collection primarily documents non-mainstream religions in America, including Theosophy (with particular emphasis on the Point Loma Theosophical community in San Diego and associated persons); Scientology; general esotericism; Spiritualism; New Thought; Christian Science; Rosicrucianism, and various other religious groups, especially in California.

The Alternative Religious Movements Collection brings together several previously existing Rare Book collections in Special Collections, including the Krishnamurti Collection, donor Hugh Hyde, gifts from the Institute for the Study of American Religions. To view this still-growing collections, search “Alternative Religious Movements Collection” in the PAC Advanced Keyword Search, and limit your search to “Special Collections.”

Rare Books Collection:

Many books on the subject of religion appear under the LC letter “B”: browsing call number combinations throughout this area can often unearth interesting items. Possible keywords to use in searches include: religio*, sermon, sacred, spirit*, [denominations], preach*, etc.

Religious Studies

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Searching Special Collections at SDSU

Religious Studies Special Collections

Print Collections