The UC Santa Barbara Library's Department of Special Research Collections collects, maintains, preserves, and makes accessible the UCSB Libraries’ most valuable, rare, and unique materials. Included are printed materials such as books and serials, as well as manuscripts, and audio-visual materials. The department’s materials are non-circulating, but are available for research in the reading room during posted hours.
The UC Santa Barbara, Department of Special Collections' digital collection at California Revealed consists of moving images from the 1960s to the 1990s. The collection includes video from "Califas: Chicano Art and Culture in California Collection," a major 1982 conference held at the University of California, Santa Cruz, as well as extensive documentation of El Teatro Campesino, the influential Chicano theater company. The collection also includes video from the Sojourner Kincaid Rolle papers, documenting the African-American poet, playwright, peacemaker, community activist, and television producer.