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Archiving Student Life

This guide provides information for student clubs and organizations interested in collecting, organizing and maintaining their records, and for those that may be interested in donating portions of their records to University Archives

About this Guide

This guide was created by your University Archivist to provide you with the information you need to collect, organize, store, and preserve your student club or organization records. 


We hope you know that your legacy at CSULB is vital to our history. We are here to help you save the materials that document your experiences, achievements, and memories of your time at CSULB!

About the University Archives

Panoramic class photo of students, faculty, and staff from 1952

University Archives serves as a repository for materials documenting the history of California State University, Long Beach and includes retrospective campus publications such as newsletters, catalogs, syllabi, photographs, student newspapers and magazines (the Daily Forty-Niner Newspaper (now called LB Current)DIG magazine22 West Magazine), campus yearbooks from 1949-2011, files of past University presidential administrations, as well as thousands of reports and other papers documenting policies and personalities of the institution.

We collect, on an on-going basis, papers of the University administration, schools and departments, and auxiliary organizations. While we endeavor to collect student, faculty, and staff experience at CSULB, these areas are underrepresented in our collections. To ensure that an inclusive history of students experiences--as seen through the eyes of students and not administrators, faculty, or staff, is documented, student organizations are encouraged to donate portions of their inactive records to the University Archives in addition to maintaining their own history within their community.

The Value of CSULB Student Organizations and Clubs

Students are the core of CSULB, and the records your student organizations create are part of our history. Preserving your records will give future students a glimpse of what campus life was like socially, culturally, and politically throughout the years. The University Archives is committed to preserving collections reflective of the diverse student experience at CSULB, including LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities, students with disabilities, and women.

Special Collections and University Archives in the CSULB Library

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