Research at the Archive: Research Collections
Take a look at our policies and procedures before you visit.
The Mission-era collections include the Junípero Serra Collection, 1713 to 1947; the California Mission Documents, 1640-1853; and the Apostolic College (Our Lady of Sorrows) Collection, 1853-1885.
The Archive-Library has copies of the sacramental registers of the California Missions, recording baptisms, marriages, and burials, for use in family history research.
Documents in the De la Guerra Collection cover the social, political, military, and economic pursuits of one of California's founding families. Also includes the De la Guerra-Vallejo Collection.
Browse our main book catalog for reference materials on topics related to our primary source collections.
The Serra Cause was the lengthy campaign to have Junípero Serra canonized as a saint. The documents in this collection describe that campaign, which resulted in Serra's canonization in 2015.
Architectural historian Dr. Dora P. Crouch studied architecture, archaeology, engineering, and geology. This collection contains her research materials on a wide variety of subjects, including colonialism in the Americas, North American archaeology, and Native American art.
The Mission Music Collection contains works related to the music of the Alta California missions.
Edith Buckland Webb Collection
Edith Webb, artist and historian of the California Missions, compiled a collection of research materials that includes photographs, correspondence, and scrapbooks.
UCSB Professor of Art and Art History Kurt Baer was appointed the official art historian of Franciscan missions in California. The Kurt Baer Papers represent Dr. Baer's research materials compiled while writing his three books on the missions and their art and architecture.
Fine Art Inventory
Browse the Santa Bárbara Mission Archive-Library's working inventory of collected fine art. Please note that this inventory may be updated as artworks are added to our collections.
The Santa Bárbara Mission Archive-Library holds several thousand photo-images of various types, covering a broad range of subjects and dating back to the late 19th century.
Dr. Sylvia Broadbent was a Professor of Anthropology at UC Riverside from 1966-1992. Before coming to UC, Dr. Broadbent also taught Chibcha culture and history at Universidad de Los Andes. Her papers include photographs, notes, letters, and articles from a career researching linguistics, language and culture, archaeology, prehistory and symbolism of communities in North and South America.
Explore SBMAL's videos and project materials for use in the classroom.
Many thanks to the Wood Claeyssens Foundation, Hutton Parker Foundation, Outhwaite Foundation, California Mission Foundation, and the Academy of American Franciscan History for their generous support of SBMAL's collections and programs.
Portions of the collections of the Provincial Archives of the Province of Saint Barbara are on the same property as the Mission Archive-Library, but are not curated by SBMAL.
For information concerning the Franciscan Friars on the West Coast since 1915, please contact: Franciscan Friars, Province of Saint Barbara, 1500 34th Ave, Oakland, California 94601 | (510) 536-3722 | info@sbofm.org
Register as a Researcher
Those who do research at the Mission Archive-Library are required to be Friends of SBMAL or Registered Researchers.
If your interest is a one-time inquiry or research project, becoming a Registered Researcher rather than a Friend might better suit your needs. Registering as a Researcher for $30 will get you access to the Archive-Library for six months. (Becoming a Friend of SBMAL, starting at $50, will get you access to the Archive-Library for a year.)
If you are a student with a current student ID, becoming a Registered Researcher is free, though donations are happily accepted! To register for free, please fill out this form.
Registered Student Researcher Scholarship Donors
We are always in need of those who can help us keep student research free. Those who donate more than $100 for the purpose of supporting our Registered Student Researcher program will automatically be considered Good Friends of the Archive-Library.
Use the checkout option below to pay online with a credit card. If you prefer, you may pay by check (made out to "SBMAL") and bring it with you to your appointment or mail it to:
Santa Bárbara Mission Archive-Library
2201 Laguna Street
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
Please contact us at research@sbmal.org directly if you have any questions.
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