Join us for UCSB Library's Inaugural Kenneth Karmiole Annual Lecture series in Religion in American Life featuring Dr. J. Gordon Melton. In 1968, Melton founded the Institute for the Study of American Religion and then donated the research library to UC Santa Barbara in 1985 providing the foundation for the American Religion Collection. Melton will shed light on the origin of the collection and how his encounter with the psychic/metaphysical world influenced its development and curatorial direction.
The American Religions Collection (ARC) was established by J. Gordon Melton in 1968 and is located in UCSB Library’s Special Research Collections. The purpose of ARC is to collect, organize, preserve, and make available to researchers primary resources relating to religious bodies and practices in the United States, with a particular focus on new religious movements. The Collection contains and solicits materials generated by, associated with, or written about these religious bodies and practices, including their historical, literary, social, and artistic aspects, and may include relevant international materials.