LibGuides: Film & Media Arts: Find Primary Sources

Finding Primary Sources for Film Research

What is a Primary Source?

The UCLA Institute on Primary Resources states that "primary resources provide firsthand evidence of historical events. They are generally unpublished materials, such as manuscripts, photographs, maps, artifacts, audio and video recordings, oral histories, postcards, and posters. In some instances, published materials can also be viewed as primary materials for the period in which they were written."

Special Collections & Archives at Chapman University The Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections & Archives is the principle repository for the preservation and access of the Leatherby Libraries’ rare and unique collections. Special Collections holds rare books, manuscripts, maps and collections of enduring value while the Archives preserves the history of the university and the Chapman family. The department includes the Dan and Sarah Caton Hogan Seminar Room with appropriate presentation technology and the Aquin Mitsuo Yamagishi Reading Room. The Library was named by the late Trustee C. Stanley Chapman, Jr., and his wife, Joan Mt. Pleasant Chapman in honor of Joan’s uncle, Frank Mt. Pleasant, a Tuscarora Indian.

The Jonathan Silent Film Collection (a large collection of ephemera and photographs from the very early silent era, around the time of the breaking of the Edison monopoly with an emphasis on Carl Lewis Gregory and the Thanhauser Film Company)
The Bruce Bryant and Carol Johnsen Title Card Collection (television series)
The John Copeland Babylon 5 Collection (a collection of scripts, ephemera, maquettes, drawings from the show)
The Bob Stockton Film Poster Collection and David Price Film Poster Collection

Huell Howser Archives The Huell Howser Archives and California's Gold Exhibit at Chapman University's Leatherby Libraries is a collection of primary and secondary sources regarding the famed television personality and documentary film maker Huell Howswer and his various shows including California's Gold.

Production Code Administration (PCA)

The Leatherby Libraries has a collection of documents on microfilm from the Motion Picture Association of America Production Code Administration. Also known as History of Cinema Series 1, Hollywood and the Production Code.

Location: 1st Floor Microfilm Cabinets

Call Number: PN1993.5.U5 H545 2006

Use the spiral bound guide located on top of the 1st Floor Microfilm Cabinets to identify which reel number corresponds to the film you are researching.

Production Code Association (PCA) Files Here is a direct link to the library catalog record of the PCA microfilm collection. Also called the History of Cinema, Series 1

The Online Archives of California

Utilize the Online Archives of California website to identify primary source collections of interest to film studies in libraries, museums, and research institutes in California.

Online Archives of California Open the virtual doors of these institutions from the OAC home page. The key is the OAC's more than 20,000 online collection guides. You can use these to browse, locate resources, or view selected items digitally — the OAC contains more than 220,000 digital images and documents — or learn how you can gain access to the physical objects.

Margaret Herrick Library

Margaret Herrick Library The Margaret Herrick Library is a world-renowned, non-circulating reference and research collection devoted to the history and development of the motion picture as an art form and an industry. Established in 1928 and now located in Beverly Hills, the library is open to the public and used year-round by students, scholars, historians and industry professionals.