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Center for Research Libraries (CRL)- An Introduction: Home

This guide will help users to know more about the CRL program and guide them about how to request resources.

What is the Center for Research Libraries (CRL)?

The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) is an international consortium of university, college, and independent research libraries. Founded in 1949, CRL supports original research and inspired teaching in the humanities, sciences, and social sciences by preserving and making available to scholars a wealth of rare and uncommon primary source materials from all world regions.

CRL's deep and diverse collections are built by specialists and experts at the major U.S. and Canadian research universities, who work together to identify and preserve unique and uncommon documentation and evidence, and to ensure its long-term integrity and accessibility to researchers in the CRL community.

CRL is based in Chicago, Illinois, and is governed by a Board of Directors drawn from the library, research and higher education communities.

(Source: http://www.crl.edu/about)

 

CRL's COVID-19 response can be found here: https://www.crl.edu/crl-response-covid-19

 

How can I search for CRL Materials?

A good place to start is the CRL Catalog. The catalog now includes all dissertations as well as most newspaper titles. Or browse the CRL topic guides to find out more about collections available to you. A growing potpourri consisting of digital collections, such as newspapers from Africa, Chinese Pamphlets: Political Communication & Mass Education, and government documents from Brazil, and others is also available.

Please note that in order to access these online collections from an off-campus location, one must authenticate using either the proxy or the VPN. More instructions on how to set up your computer to access these resources from an off-campus location see here.

Please note that not all CRL materials are listed in their online catalog. Our liaison librarians can help you identify CRL materials that might be useful in your research. Interlibrary Loan can also ask the CRL for materials not found in online catalogs.

2019 CRL Global Resources Forum Recording.

Global Resources Programs

As our librarians participate in different collaborative projects within the framework of the CRL, it is important to know more about them. Below is a list of these projects that has been culled from the website of the CRL.

AFRINUL

The Cooperative African Newspapers Project seeks to enhance the utilization of newspapers as a source of information about Africa. The project has developed the African Newspapers Union List (AFRINUL), a centralized electronic database of holdings information for newspapers (all formats and all languages) published in sub-Saharan Africa. Read more...

CAMP

The Cooperative Africana Materials Project (CAMP) acquires, preserves, and maintains microform and digital collections of unique, rare, and bulky or voluminous Africana research materials for its members. CAMP emphasizes original preservation of newspapers, journals, government publications, archives, and the personal papers of scholars and government leaders. Read more...

CIFNAL

CIFNAL, the Collaborative Initiative for French Language Collections, was founded in 2006 to promote and facilitate the cooperative exchange of ideas and resources between Francophone and North American research libraries. CIFNAL seeks to improve access to French and French-language resources through licensing, digitization, and institutional connections. Read more...

GNARP

The German-North American Resources Partnership (GNARP) supports the acquisition, sharing, and use of German-language materials among North American libraries, and the fostering of closer collaboration with German research libraries. Read more...

HRADP

The Human Rights Archives and Documentation Program (HRADP) facilitates efforts by institutions to identify, preserve, and provide access to human rights-related archives and documentation by collecting and sharing information about the nature and status of at-risk materials, and providing other technical, communications, and financial support for preserving and maintaining those materials. Read more...

ICON

The International Coalition on Newspapers (ICON) is a multi-institutional effort to promote the accessibility and preservation of international newspaper collections by gathering and providing data on physical and digital collections of newspapers from all world regions. The program supports the ICON Database of International Newspapers and conducts assessments of major newspaper digitization initiatives. Read more...

LAMP

The Latin American Materials Project (LAMP) acquires, preserves, and maintains microform and digital collections of unique, rare, and bulky or voluminous Latin American research materials for its members. LAMP emphasizes original preservation, either through microfilming or digitization, of newspapers, journals, archives, and ephemeral material from Latin America and the Caribbean. Read more...

LARRP

The Latin Americanist Research Resources Project (LARRP) is a cooperative initiative that seeks to improve access to the array of research resources published in Latin America. LARRP supports collaborative projects that increase free and open access to information in support of learning and scholarship in Latin American Studies, and cultivates relationships within the academic library community. Read more...

MEMP

The Middle East Materials Project (MEMP) acquires, preserves, and maintains microform and digital collections of unique, rare, and bulky or voluminous research materials pertaining to the field of Middle Eastern studies for its members. MEMP emphasizes original preservation, either through microfilming or digitization, of newspapers, pamphlets, and ephemeral material from or about the Middle East and the Arab world. Read more...

Print Archive Network Forum (PAN)

The Center for Research Libraries sponsors the Print Archive Network Forum (PAN), a biannual meeting held in conjunction with ALA conferences, to share information, expertise and best practices about strategic management of print archive programs. PAN invites libraries and consortia of all sizes to participate. Read more...

SAMP

The South Asia Materials Project (SAMP) acquires, preserves, and maintains microform and digital collections of unique, rare, and bulky or voluminous research materials in South Asian studies for its members. SAMP emphasizes original preservation, either through microfilming or digitization, of newspapers, journals, official publications, monographs, and ephemera in all languages of South Asia.Read more...

SEAM

The Southeast Asia Materials Project (SEAM) acquires, preserves, and maintains microform and digital collections of unique, rare, and bulky or voluminous research materials in Southeast Asian studies for its members. SEAM emphasizes original preservation, either through microfilming or digitization, of newspapers, archives, manuscripts, journals, and ephemera relating to all countries of Southeast Asia. Read more...

SEEMP

The Slavic and East European Materials Project (SEEMP) acquires, preserves, and maintains microform and digital collections of unique, rare, and bulky or voluminous research materials pertaining to the field of Slavic and East European studies for its members. SEEMP emphasizes original preservation, either through microfilming or digitization, of newspapers, journals, books, archives, pamphlets, and other relevant materials from the region. Read more...

TRAIL

TRAIL works to ensure preservation, discoverability, and persistent open access to government technical publications regardless of form or format.  TRAIL identifies, acquires, catalogs, digitizes, and provides persistent and free access to historical collections of federally funded technical research reports held by research libraries and other organizations. Read more...

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How can I request materials from CRL?

Use the Inter-library Loan request form or use Melvyl to submit requests. Contact your Subject Librarian or the Inter-library Loan Department if you have questions about borrowing CRL materials.

Contact Jesse

Jesse Silva
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Need help with research?  Have a question about the collection or the UC Berkeley Library?  Here are two ways to get in touch with me:

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