The Santa Barbara Mission-Archive Library is now an independent non-profit educational and research institution that is separate from Mission Santa Barbara, but occupying a portion of the mission building complex. Some Franciscans serve on the Board of Trustees along with scholars and community members; the institution is directed by a lay academic scholar. It is the oldest library in the State of California that still remains in the hands of its founders, the Franciscans. Beginning with the writings of Hubert Howe Bancroft, the library has served as a center for historical study of the missions for more than a century. The collections of the Santa Barbara Mission-Archive Library had their inception in the 1760s with Fray Junipero Serra's plans for missions in Alta California. The collections include named sections, the Junipero Serra Collection (1713–1947), the California Mission Documents (1640–1853), and the Apostolic College collection (1853–1885). The archive-library also has a large collection of early California writings, maps, and images as well as a collection of materials for the Tohono O'oodham Indians of Arizona.