The archives of the Grateful Dead--comprised of more than 30 years of memorabilia that includes the band's first recording contract, life-size replicas of the band members' skeletons and artwork hand-made by fans--is headed to University of California at Santa Cruz, where it will be displayed in a dedicated, interactive reading room at the university's McHenry Library, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The archive, which contains thousands of pieces, has been maintained for 34 years by Eileen Law, who was hired by the band in 1972 to tend to a fan club of Deadheads that began developing after the band invited fans to write to a San Rafael, CA, post office box on its 1971 eponymous album, popularly known as "Skull & Roses." Law reportedly saved everything that came through the band's office, including press clippings, photographs, backstage passes, promotional materials, business records, posters, T-shirts, newsletters, thousands of decorated envelopes mailed to the band's ticket office and all the guest lists for the band's concerts.

Both UC Berkeley and Stanford made a pitch for the archive; bassist Phil Lesh was once a student at Berkeley and his son now attends Stanford. However, the surviving band members ultimately chose UC Santa Cruz, located about an hour's drive south of San Francisco, the town most associated with the Dead. Christine Bunting, head of special collections for the library, told the newspaper, "I think it's a perfect fit for Santa Cruz--the ethos of the band, the whole idea of community sharing, is really well matched with our campus.... We also have this whole side that's concerned with social justice and tolerance and community spirit. And I think that fits so perfectly with what the band has done and what the Deadheads have sustained over the years."

Santa Cruz music Professor Fred Lieberman has taught a class in the music of the Grateful Dead for years and has collaborated with Dead drummer Mickey Hart on two books; also, the campus radio station continues to host a weekly show, "Dead Serious," which features the band's music.

Weir, Hart and UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal announced the multi-million dollar donation yesterday (4/23) on the band's website live from San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium, the historic venue where the band emerged as part of the psychedelic ballroom scene in the 1960s.

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