On Ephemera

These days research libraries collect all sorts of things you might be surprised to find in a library. If you think that its all scholarly books, journals, and online databases, you are missing some of the most fascinating things the library has gathered for you.

To wit, a collection of Chicano Movement Political Pin Buttons acquired by our Latin American Studies Librarian, Luis Gonzalez. These are from the 1960s to 1990s, though they surely resonate today. Many in the collection are from the United Farm Workers of America. The messages on the buttons advocate for unions and for boycotting companies that exploit migrant labor.

Here is my favorite, I guess because it’s slightly silly

This one is a from the Chicano anti-war movement during the Vietnam War:

This one is from the Workers World Party

A Workers World Party button

This one is a from the Chicano anti-war movement during the Vietnam War

The Preservation Department, where I work, is responsible for the care of the library’s collections. Our work consists of preventive measures designed to protect collections from damage and deterioration, and hands-on treatment to stabilize, repair, conserve, and reformat damaged materials.

The Chicano Movement pin buttons were in good condition but they needed a storage box to keep them together. I designed a box that is both storage and display. There are two trays, and each cell has a photo of the pin that belongs in it.

Students and researchers in Latin American Studies, Political Science, and Labor Studies might want to inspect this collection to understand the issues of the time and how people’s views were expressed in the moment. That is the power of ephemera, and why libraries collect such things. Ephemera, by definition, is stuff made for a moment in time but never intended to be preserved. Wikipedia also defines ephemera as: “the minor transient documents of everyday life.” That’s the funny thing about cultural materials – their value can change over time as the stuff of everyday life becomes fodder for research about the past.

You can access this collection by clicking the “Request This” button in the catalog record.