Group Visits
The Clark Library welcomes class and other group visits, including UCLA affiliates, primary and secondary schools, local university and college classes, and more!
Scheduling a Visit
To schedule your group visit, please fill out our group-visit request form.
All visits must be arranged at least two weeks in advance. Please notify us at least one week in advance of rare materials that need to be paged for a given session.
A limited number of courses may meet at the Clark Library for the duration of the quarter or semester, with preference given to UCLA Ahmanson Undergraduate Seminars and other UCLA classes. If you are interested in holding a course at the Clark for an entire quarter or semester, please contact us as soon as possible. Such an arrangement is well suited for topics that will make extensive use of the collections.
Please let us know if you have any technological requirements. Standard A/V (PowerPoint, internet) and a document camera are available in any room. Our smart classroom is outfitted with a large touch-screen monitor, Apple TV, iPad, and dedicated wifi network.
If anyone in your group has accommodation needs for the space or session that we should take into account, please include this in the relevant section of the group-visit request form or notify us of this by calling the Instruction and Engagement Librarian at (310) 794-5136 ideally at least five business days prior to the visit.
Developing Your Lesson Plan
Visits typically last between one and two hours. In consultation with staff, the visit can include a tour of the grounds and building, as well as hands-on experience with rare books, manuscripts, and/or artwork from the Clark’s collection. We have found that 10-15 (or fewer) items per class tends to work best, and we ask that no more than 25 items be pulled for each session.
Our librarians are eager to work with teachers to develop focused exercises and/or assignments for students based on our collections. Topics and learning outcomes could include primary-source literacy, fundamentals of archival research, and the history of books and typography. Other questions that our librarians and collections can help you explore include: What is authenticity? What is a primary vs. secondary source? How does one examine a primary source for its materiality and historical context? For more on primary source literacy, we recommend the RBMS-SAA authored “Guidelines for Primary Source Literacy.”
The following subjects are just some of many supported by the Clark’s collections (links bring up sample book lists):
Early Modern British Literature (Long 18th Century; Jonathan Swift; British Literature; William Shakespeare and Renaissance)
Early Modern British History (Long 18th Century; 17th-Century Political and Religious Controversy)
Early Modern French Literature
Early Modern Paleography and Manuscript Studies
Gender and Sexuality Studies (Long 18th Century; Oscar Wilde and the 1890s)
Victorian Literature and Visual Culture
19th-Century American Literature (Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, et al.)
Early Modern Book History
History of Printing and Bookmaking
History of Typography and Graphic Design
Fine Press Printing (especially California Printing)
Book Arts
History of California and the West (especially Montana)
Inspired to do more research in our reading room? Learn about our policies, registration, etc., by visiting our website!
Visiting the Clark
Please see our Hours and Directions page for information on getting to the Clark. Ample, free parking is available. Some support for rideshare services may be available for UCLA undergraduate classes; please email the Clark Library at clark@humnet.ucla.edu or call the Instruction and Engagement Librarian at (310) 794-5136 for information.
Food and drink are prohibited in the Library to help preserve our collections. Visitors will also be asked to place bags and coats in lockers or other designated locations before viewing rare materials. Pencils (but not pens), cell phones, notebooks, and laptop computers are permitted. Flashless photography is allowed.
In consultation with staff, visitors may handle collection materials on display. Library staff will provide instruction on proper and safe handling.
If your group is planning to take a lunch break and would like to know about spaces to store and eat lunch, please email the Clark Library at clark@humnet.ucla.edu.
Other questions? Please email the Clark Library at clark@humnet.ucla.edu or call the Instruction and Engagement Librarian at (310) 794-5136.
Can’t Visit the Clark In-Person?
Email us about the possibility of us bringing materials to you or doing a virtual session.
For a virtual tour of our historical first floor, watch our introduction to the Clark video: