Finding aid for the USC Pacific Asia Museum history archives 5377

Bo Doub
USC Libraries Special Collections
2022 September
Doheny Memorial Library 206
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles, California 90089-0189
specol@usc.edu


Contributing Institution: USC Libraries Special Collections
Title: USC Pacific Asia Museum history archives
Creator: Pacific Asia Museum
Identifier/Call Number: 5377
Physical Description: 35.46 Linear Feet 37 boxes
Date (inclusive): 1971-2015
Abstract: The USC Pacific Asia Museum history archives consist of institutional records of the USC Pacific Asia Museum (PAM), which was founded in 1971 and became part of the University of Southern California in 2013. The collection includes event programs, administrative files, photographs, photograph albums, press releases, program and outreach files, memoranda, building blueprints, renovation designs, PAM newsletters, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, audiovisual material, and records from PAM's various councils and committees. PAM events and programs that are documented in the collection include the Festival of the Autumn Moon, Family Free Day, language classes, volunteer events, exhibitions, Rank and Style, costume events, Tiny Treasures, open houses, and Woven Wonders. PAM was founded in 1971 by the Pacificulture Foundation, which purchased "The Grace Nicholson Treasure House of Oriental Art" from the City of Pasadena. The museum's mission is to "create inspiring encounters with the art, history and culture of Pacific Asia to promote intercultural understanding in the service of elevating our shared sense of humanity." PAM's volunteers, docents, and members of PAM's Service Council were integral in assembling and preserving much of the material in the USC Pacific Asia Museum history archives. The museum credits one such docent, Margaret "Sunny" Stevenson, with contributing a significant amount of work toward organizing and preserving the material in the USC Pacific Asia Museum history archives.
Language of Material: English .

Scope and Contents

The USC Pacific Asia Museum history archives consist of institutional records of the USC Pacific Asia Museum (PAM), which was founded in 1971 and became part of the University of Southern California in 2013. The collection includes event programs, administrative files, photographs, photograph albums, press releases, program and outreach files, memoranda, building blueprints, renovation designs, PAM newsletters, newspaper clippings, scrapbooks, audiovisual material, and records from PAM's various councils and committees. PAM events and programs that are documented in the collection include the Festival of the Autumn Moon, Family Free Day, language classes, volunteer events, exhibitions, Rank and Style, costume events, Tiny Treasures, open houses, and Woven Wonders. PAM was founded in 1971 by the Pacificulture Foundation, which purchased "The Grace Nicholson Treasure House of Oriental Art" from the City of Pasadena. The museum's mission is to "create inspiring encounters with the art, history and culture of Pacific Asia to promote intercultural understanding in the service of elevating our shared sense of humanity." PAM's volunteers, docents, and members of PAM's Service Council were integral in assembling and preserving much of the material in the USC Pacific Asia Museum history archives. The museum credits one such docent, Margaret "Sunny" Stevenson, with contributing a significant amount of work toward organizing and preserving the material in the USC Pacific Asia Museum history archives.

Conditions Governing Access

Advance notice required for access.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special Collections at specol@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Rights Statement for Archival Description

Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of the USC Pacific Asia Museum via Raphael Gatchalian, September 8, 2022.

Preferred Citation

[Box/folder no. or item name], USC Pacific Asia Museum history archives, Collection no. 5377, University Archives, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Processing Information

Most of the material in this collection was originally housed in boxes labeled "Museum History Archives" before the collection was reboxed during accessioning.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Art museums -- California -- Pasadena -- Archival resources
Art, Asian -- Archival resources
Asia -- Study and teaching -- Archival resources
Asian Americans -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
East Asia -- Study and teaching -- Archival resources
Intercultural communication -- Asia -- Archival resources
Museum archives -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Museum outreach programs -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Museums and children -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Volunteer workers in museums -- California -- Los Angeles -- Archival resources
Administrative records
Blueprints
Memorandums
Moving images
Negatives (photographic)
Newsletters
Newspaper clippings
Photograph albums
Photographs
Press releases
Programs (documents)
Scrapbooks
Slides (photographs)
Nicholson, Grace, -1948 -- Archives
Pacific Asia Museum -- Archives

Box 1, Box 2

Festivals of the Autumn Moon 1981-2015

Box 3, Box 4

[Event programs, photographs, press releases, and other material for Family Free Day and other PAM events] 1991-2015

 

PAM newsletters 1971-2015

Box 5

1971-1991

Box 6

1992-1999

Box 7

2000-2006

Box 8

2007-2010

Box 9

2010-2015

Box 10

Misc. early press, photos, clippings

 

Photographs, photograph albums, slides, negatives, and scrapbooks

Box 11, Box 12, Box 13, Box 14, Box 15

Photos for files

Box 16, Box 17

Negatives

Box 18, Box 19

Palmer Carousels [slides]

Box 20

Service Council photograph albums 1980-2000

Box 21

Clippings scrapbooks from Frances T. Lee and Henry G. Lee 1940-1945

Box 22, Box 23

Scrapbooks, photograph albums, and binders relating to the Philippines

Box 22

Festival of the Autumn Moon scrapbook 1987

Box 24

VHS recordings of PAM events and other content

Box 25

Pacific Asia Museum "Founders Interviews" [VHS tapes]

Box 25

Introduction to the Pacific Asia Museum Tour [VHS tape]

Box 25

Images and documents saved on floppy disks

Box 26, Box 27

Jen, Paul, and general - to be filed [clippings, correspondence, and other material] 1989-2007

 

Boxes labeled "To File"

Processing Information

This series' box-level records are titled with sample folder labels from each box.
Box 23

[Councils and Committees / Travel / Administration / PSA and PAC / and other files]

Box 28

[History - Grace Nicholson building / material relating to PAM events / newspaper clippings / and other files]

Box 29

[Museum Information / Council Reports / Chinese Language Class / and other files]

Box 30

[Philippines Arts Council / Japanese Arts Council / Sofia Adamson / and other files]

Box 31

[Family Festival Days / Pacificulture Foundation / Volunteer Brunch / and other files]

Box 32

[Philippines Exhibition / Collectors Gallery / Rank and Style / Free Day / Service Council Training / and other files]

Box 33

[Korean Costumes Press Clippings / Tiny Treasures / Woven Wonders / Administrative correspondence / Board of Directors / Pacificulture Foundation / and other files]

Box 34

[Trash or Treasure / Newsletter / Chinese Open House / Council Presidents / arts councils / Old Material / and other files]

Box 35, Box 36, Box 37

Blueprints, architectural drawings, master plans, and designs [rolled] 1975-2005