Collection of Heavy Metal Music material, 1964-2016

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Summary

Abstract:
Collection of published works, archival material, and ephemera related to heavy metal music and fan culture.
Extent:
17.1 linear feet (10 boxes, 5 half boxes, 3 cartons, 1 shoebox, 2 media boxes, 5 flat boxes, 3 oversize flat boxes, and 1 map folder)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Collection of Heavy Metal Music Material (Collection 2269). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection gathers published works, musical recordings, and ephemera related to the heavy metal music genre from the late 1960s through the present. Published works include biographies and autobiographies of musicians, histories of the heavy metal genre, and magazines. The collection also features approximately 600 fliers announcing shows in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas, along with backstage passes, t-shirts, photographs, and scrapbooks. The Recordings series includes vinyl records, audiocassettes, and compact discs, some of which have been signed by the artists. The collection is also strong in metal-related fanzines from throughout the United States and world.

Biographical / historical:

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that began to emerge in the late 1960s. Many subgenres fall within metal music, including glam metal, thrash metal, and death metal. In Los Angeles, the Sunset Strip area of West Hollywood was home to a vibrant heavy metal scene, particularly in the 1980s.

Acquisition information:
Purchase from The Book Shop, Covina CA, 2015. Additional purchases and donations from The Book Shop, 2015-2017. Purchase of Jetboy flyers from Boo-Hooray, New York, 2016.
Processing information:

Initial processing by Megan Hahn Fraser, with additional description by Brad Johnson, 2015; additions processed by Megan Hahn Fraser, 2016-2017, with additional processing by Rebecca Townsend, 2017, and Kelly Besser, 2020.

Collections are processed to a variety of levels depending on the work necessary to make them usable, their perceived user interest and research value, availability of staff and resources, and competing priorities. Library Special Collections provides a standard level of preservation and access for all collections and, when time and resources permit, conducts more intensive processing. These materials have been arranged and described according to national and local standards and best practices.

We are committed to providing ethical, inclusive, and anti-racist description of the materials we steward, and to remediating existing description of our materials that contains language that may be offensive or cause harm. We invite you to submit feedback about how our collections are described, and how they could be described more accurately, by filling out the form located on our website: Report Problematic Content and Description in UCLA's library collections and archives.

Arrangement:

Arranged in the following series:

  • Series 1: Books and DVDs
  • Series 2: Show fliers
  • Series 3: Photographs, ephemera, and memorabilia
  • Series 4: Fanzines
  • Series 5: Magazines
  • Series 6: Recordings

Physical / technical requirements:

CONTAINS UNPROCESSED DIGITAL MATERIALS: Digital materials are not currently available for access and will require further processing and assessment. If you have questions about this material please email spec-coll@library.ucla.edu.

CONTAINS AUDIO and AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS: This collection contains both processed and unprocessed audio and audiovisual materials. Audio and audiovisual materials are not currently available for access, unless otherwise noted in a Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements note at the series and file levels. All requests to access processed materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Physical location:
Portions of the collection stored off-site. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page. Box 25 and box 28 are held on-site.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located on this page.

Books and DVDs in this collection have been individually cataloged in the UCLA Library online catalog. Records for these items may be found by searching this keyword string, "Collection of heavy metal music material."

Terms of access:

Property rights to the objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Collection of Heavy Metal Music Material (Collection 2269). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, University of California, Los Angeles.

Location of this collection:
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575, US
Contact:
(310) 825-4988
AskLSC@library.ucla.edu
Website