CSUDH Archives

About the CSUDH Archives and Special Collections Department

The Archives and Special Collections Department at CSU Dominguez Hills is the principle repository for rare, special, and digital materials supportive of the University’s research, creative, and service commitments within its mission. Essential collection areas include: Special Collections, Dominguez Hills University Archives, California State University Archives, Rare Book Collections, and the Digital collection. Although it documents many diverse subjects, the department’s primary focus is on collecting, organizing, describing, and making unpublished and published materials relating to local, regional, and state history (with a focus on Los Angeles’ South Bay communities) accessible. The department also serves as the institutional memory of Dominguez Hills University and documents the functions and activities of its community by collecting enduring records. For more information on these specific collections see:

California State Dominguez Hills Department of Archives and Special Collections

Why A CSUDH Archives & Special Collections Blog

The CSUDH Archives & Special Collections Blog seeks to foster active user participation and engagement on a wide range of issues relating to our archival and special collections. Specifically, the implementation of this blog is envisioned to provide informal access to the special collections, immediate news release, and offer a point of contact where our community can raise questions and engage in vibrant and ongoing conversations on topics relevant to these issues.

We hope to strengthen liaisons and communication concerning CSDHU archival and special materials through immediate dialogue with the CSDHU faculty, its student body, researchers, local community members, anyone interested in the California State University System archives, and archival interns.

About Us

Gregory L. Williams is the Director of the Archives and Special Collections of CSU Dominguez Hills. He has worked in many curatorial and archival positions that include: the San Diego Historical Society, the New Jersey Historical Society, Rutgers University, Colonial Williamsburg, the Oregon State Archives, and the South Carolina Historical Society. Among his works and contributions, he has published over 45 finding aids for the Online Archive of California, the Guide to the Photograph Collections of the San Diego Historical Society, Guide to the Manuscript Collections of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, among many other publications and articles. He has also served as photograph editor for Balboa Park: A Millennium History; A History of North County San Diego; and San Diego After 1940 and gave lectures at the Society of American Archivists in 2007. For additional information about Gregory Williams or to find links to his various works and contributions, please direct your browser to CSUDH Campus-wide Directory

Thomas Philois the archivist of the Archives and Special Collections of CSU Dominguez Hills. He has also worked as an archivist for the Getty Research Institute. Thomas participates in a number of committees on campus, including the Friends of the University Library, the Inauguration Steering Committee, the Friends of the Japanese Garden, and the Archives Advisory Committee. He finds that archiving allows him to work in a field directly related to his passion for history, artifacts, and writing. Among his works and contributions, he has published several finding aids for the Online Archive of California such as the Rancho San Pedro Collection and Glenn Anderson Papers. Among his fictional works it is important to mention: Judgment by Fire (Bantam, 1985) and Play of Light (Mercury House, 1989).