Finding Aid to the Lawrence Clark Powell Collection MS.651

Holly Rose Larson
Library and Archives at the Autry
2012 October 29
210 South Victory Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91502
rroom@theautry.org


Contributing Institution: Library and Archives at the Autry
Title: Lawrence Clark Powell Collection
Creator: Powell, Lawrence Clark
Creator: Hodge, Frederick Webb
Creator: Book Club of California
Identifier/Call Number: MS.651
Physical Description: 3.1 Linear Feet (2 folders, 1 oversize folder)
Date (inclusive): 1941-1973
Abstract: This is a collection of manuscripts by Lawrence Clark Powell (1906-2001). This collection includes correspondence from Powell to Southwest Museum librarians and directors, typed and published manuscripts, a newspaper clipping, pamphlets, and speeches from 1941-1973.
Language of Material: English .

Scope and Contents

This is a collection of manuscripts by Lawrence Clark Powell (1906-2001). This collection includes correspondence from Powell to Southwest Museum librarians and directors, typed and published manuscripts, a newspaper clipping, pamphlets, and speeches from 1941-1973. One of the papers is a handout entitled "Libraries of the Southwest, outline and reading list" from a course Powell taught at University of California, Los Angeles in 1962.

Preferred Citation

Lawrence Clark Powell Collection, 1941-1973, Braun Research Library Collection, Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles; MS.651; [folder number] [folder title][date].

Processing History

Processed by Library staff after 1981. Finding aid completed by Holly Rose Larson, NHPRC Processing Archivist, 2012 October 29, made possible through grant funding from the National Historical Publications and Records Commissions (NHPRC). Collection addition made 2015 July 28 by Mallory Furnier.

Acquisition

This collection is made up of materials collected by Library and Museum staff as well as donations from Lawrence Clark Powell, 1957 February-1966 March 30.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright has not been assigned to the Autry Museum of the American West. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Research Services and Archives. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Autry Museum of the American West as the custodian of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Conditions Governing Access

Appointments to view materials are required. To make an appointment please visit https://theautry.org/research-collections/library-and-archives  and fill out the Researcher Application Form.

Biographical Note

Lawrence Clark Powell was born September 3, 1906 in Washington, D.C.; his family moved to South Pasadena, CA in 1910. He earned a BA from Occidental College in 1928 and his Ph.D. from the University of Dijon, France, in 1932. He worked at Jake Zeitlin's bookstore in Los Angeles during the mid-1930s and graduated from the library school at UC Berkeley in 1937.
He worked briefly at the Los Angeles Public Library before joining the UCLA Library staff in 1938. He served as the UCLA Librarian from 1944 to 1961, director of the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library from 1944 to 1966, and became the first Dean, UCLA School of Library Service, in 1960. When he retired from UCLA in 1966, the campus's main library was named in his honor.
A prolific author, Powell's writings include books and articles on a variety of topics including literature, librarianship, the book trade, California history, and travel. He served as professor-in-residence at the University of Arizona from 1971, and was awarded an Honorary Life Membership in the American Library Association in 1981. He died in March 2001.
Source: Collection on Lawrence Clark Powell, Collection no. 0157, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Manuscripts
Correspondence
Clippings
Typescripts
Bibliography
Ornithology -- Southwest, New
Libraries
Book collecting
Speeches
Strobridge, Idah Meacham
Comfort, Will Levington
Goldwater, Barry M. (Barry Morris)
University of California, Los Angeles