RESEARCH AT THE ARCHIVE
The library staff is top-notch, friendly, but busy. Feel free to email them ahead of time.
Getting to the Archive
If you are going to be flying in and need a place to stay, you can find the official visitor’s guide here:
If you plan to use a car, consider parking at the Intersection of Mayfield and Lagunita:
It is close to the Archive, is pay by the hour up to a full day, and usually has available space:
540 Lagunita Dr, Stanford, CA 94305
Using this link, you can type “My location” to get directions from anywhere to the parking lot.
In any event, you’ll need to walk to the Cecil H Green Library:
Cecil H Green Library, 557 Escondido Mall, Stanford, CA 94305
The special collection is on the second floor. You may bring supplies with you, but they will provide a key and locker to store bags as a precaution against theft. Consider planning on what to do about meals if spending a full day there.
Once you are prepared to make the trip, you’ll need to use online services to request materials.
Using the Archive
This is your starting point.
Use this website for getting around all Stanford’s online resources concerning RBF.
If you know what you are looking for, use this website:
Use the “Search this collection” search bar with keywords you are looking for — for example Critical Path — then use your keyboard search function (press Control-F for windows or Command-F for OS X) to scroll through the same keywords until you find an item you like.
For example, M1090 Series 8 Box 93 refers to the first appearance of Critical Path in the Archive.
If you don’t know what you are looking for, use this website:
Here, you can get a sense of a topic according to Stanford.
Finally, use this website to make a reservation:
Click on the blue request button on the left of your screen.
They have a coding system:
M1090 to denote the Fuller Collection
A “Series” number which corresponds to the finding aid.
And a “Box” number which corresponds to a literal box containing specific items from a series.
For example, M1090 Series 8 Box 93 refers to the first appearance of Critical Path in the Archive.
You do NOT need a Stanford or Library ID -- just ignore those fields.
In 1999 the R. Buckminster Fuller Archive was transferred to Stanford University as the institution of safekeeping and research. It comprises more than 1,200 linear feet of papers, models, artifacts and recordings which require special care for preservation.
To facilitate research at the Archive, the Estate has written a brief guide as follows. For research assistance, contact b.fuller.estate@gmail.com
Archive Foreword: Plan Ahead
To do research at the Stanford RBF Archive, you are required to go in person. Before you make the trip, you’ll need to know that the standard limit is 5 “boxes” per day—boxes being slightly larger than a cereal box. Each box contains documents and/or media.
Moreover, each request for boxes must be made 2 days in advance. The special collections is normally open M-F 10 AM to 5 PM. You can check here:
THE ESTATE OF R. BUCKMINSTER FULLER
