The Robert J. Lagomarsino Collection State Senate Papers 1961-1974
Collection Scope
The Robert J. Lagomarsino Collection documents Mr. Lagomarsino's service as a California State Senator (1961-1974) under governors Edmund "Pat" Brown and Ronald Reagan. The collection includes original furniture as displayed in the library exhibit room, artifacts, photographs, and a special compilation of original correspondence and memorabilia from government officials and celebrities. The collection also contains the Lagomarsino family history, documenting Ventura County's early beginnings in the State.
A library houses books, also known as secondary sources, which by their very nature, are mass produced, edited, and composites of numerous works. An archive maintains documentation which is predominantly unique, unpublished, and irreplaceable, in both form and substance. The majority of materials found in an archive are considered to be primary sources - those which provide individual first-hand knowledge, research, and/or documentation of events, personalities, or as in the Lagomarsino Collection, social topics of concern at the time.
The Lagomarsino Collection not only benefits students and scholars interested in politics or history; it also provides valuable primary resource material for such areas of study as agriculture, economics, education, environment, crime, family concerns, health interests, and transportation. From the campaign trail of Richard Nixon's gubernatorial run in1962 to Santa Barbara student demonstrations against the Vietnam War, the archive encompasses a wide range of Ventura County personalities and events.
The State Collection is arranged chronologically from 1961 into the following record groups:
- Legislative Files
- Election Files
- Senate Bill Files
- Voting Record Files
- Senate Office Files
- Richard Nixon Files
- Newsletter Files
- Speech Files
- Press Release Files
- Newspaper Clipping Files
- Maps
- Certificates
- Resolutions
- Plaques/Trophies/Ribbons
- Ventura History
- Films
- Photographs
- Special Collections
The State Collection begins with 1961 and is arranged chronologically, following the arrangement system utilized in the Federal Collection. A Finding Guide to the State Collection materials is not offered through this website, but is available upon request.
The Lagomarsino Archives also maintains its own Special Collections, consisting of original (signed) letters from the administrations of Nixon to Bush and autographed photographs from celebrities and governmental officials.
For more information about the Robert J. Lagomarsino Collection State Senate Papers, please contact University Archivist, Evelyn Taylor.