Three Questions with Holly Harris
Holly Harris is a History PhD Student and University PhD Fellow at Southern Methodist University. Her research focuses on allied prisoners of war on the Eastern front during World War II. She has held fellowships with the United States Air Force Academy, Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and the University of Illinois Russian and Eastern European Center. Her relative Warren Gribbons was an American prisoner of war for a year and a half, which initially sparked her interest in the topic. She is interested in how this event connects to geopolitics, military welfare, and strategy. To carry out this work, Holly visits archives with primary source material like diaries, letters and reports. Three Questions is an initiative to share the value that our faculty, students, and external patrons derive from using the Portal to Texas History at UNT Libraries. 1. How important is hosting your organization’s historic materials on UNT’s Portal to Texas History for your patrons or visitors? The Portal has been absolutely critical to my research, learning, and teaching. I have been able to use sources from the Portal in a book chapter I have under review with an edited collection about the US Military and the Holocaust, which is slated to be the first book to exclusively focus on the US Military and the Holocaust. I love how the Portal can foreground sources from the Nimitz Museum while also highlighting local newspapers like Texas Jewish Post. I found it equally impressive the dedication to tags that make the resources extremely easy to find. The OCR text recognition is top tier making finding seemingly niche events easy. I have been able to use primary sources from the Portal to help teach my students about World War II as well. Since the Portal has been so helpful, I try to connect all the researchers I know with it! 2. Can you tell us a story or two about how patrons or visitors have used your online collections that are hosted in the Portal? The Portal has allowed me to make more connections in my research. It particularly allows me to see how local communities were understanding the Holocaust in addition to providing voices of people who were a part of it. It is uniquely helpful how the Portal uses both museums and smaller archives. I’m grateful that UNT has taken the time to create this source. 3. What do you want others to know about your experience partnering with UNT’s Portal to Texas History? I would like others to know that I’m passionate about prisoners of war (POWs) in World War II. This interest stems from my great uncles, Warren and George Gribbons, who were POWs during WWII. George unfortunately did not survive but Warren did after a year and a half internment and became a dedicated educator until his death. Their stories and all the people whose papers I encounter in the archives inspire me to be a dedicated historian. I do not take it lightly what they endured nor anyone else in history, and I look forward to bringing historical findings to the broader conversation. I also have an interest in Russian and Russian history, and I have enjoyed learning the Russian language this past year. Holly Harris is a History PhD Student and University PhD Fellow at Southern Methodist University. Her research focuses on allied prisoners of war on the Eastern front during World War II. She has held fellowships with the United States Air Force Academy, Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, and the University of Illinois Russian and Eastern European Center. Her relative Warren Gribbons was an American prisoner of war for a year and a half, which initially sparked her interest in the topic. She is interested in how this event connects to geopolitics, military welfare, and strategy. To carry out this work, Holly visits archives with primary source material like diaries, letters and reports. external_relations_in_the_news_three_questions
Posted:
11/01/2024
Dean's Innovation Grant 2024
The University of North Texas Libraries’ Dean’s Innovation Grant, provides funding to research and projects within the UNT Libraries. The University of North Texas Libraries’ Dean’s Innovation Grant, provides funding to research and projects within the UNT Libraries that promote scholarship and contribute to the gathering of knowledge that helps improve our libraries, our university, and the community. Dean’s Innovation Grant 2024 Awardees Video Promotion Meranda Roy, Whitney Johnson-Freeman, Varun Mandadapu Project Description: This project’s purpose is to evaluate and propose effective strategies for promoting instructional videos in an academic library setting, focusing on enhancing access, awareness, and engagement among library users. More specially, we are interested in answering the following questions: What are the current levels of engagement and usage of instructional videos? What are the perceived benefits, challenges, and preferences of library users regarding instructional videos? What strategies can be implemented to enhance access and discoverability of instructional videos in the library? How can the library effectively promote instructional videos to increase user engagement and usage? Bridging the Gap: Identifying Need-Based Services and Software for Engineering Students and Faculty Chassidy Miles, Meranda Roy, Ana Krahmer Project Description: This project employed both qualitative and quantitative research methods to identify and enhance the resources and software necessary for the UNT College of Engineering students and faculty, with the aim of improving library offerings and liaison services. We developed three overarching questions to guide our inquiry: What liaison services and resources are essential to effectively meet the needs of engineering students and faculty? How can we better support project-based learning within engineering degree programs? How can the Libraries’ engagement with COE students and faculty be improved? To answer these questions, we conducted surveys with both students and faculty to identify strengths and weaknesses in current support services and resources. Additionally, to inform the local data, we extended our research by deploying a survey to engineering librarians at institutions external to UNT, to develop evidence-based recommendations for improvement. Student-driven Spatial Needs Assessment for the UNT Music Library, Special Collections, and the 4th Floor of Willis Library Kristin Wolski, Susannah Cleveland, Meagan May, Gabby Milburn Project Description: With a renovation scheduled within the next several years for the fourth floor in the Willis Library, the Music Library and Special Collections have been asked to identify how public spaces are used and why students and staff might benefit from changes to them. This project was a needs analysis focusing on patron needs—particularly students— related to using spaces on the fourth floor of the Willis Library. The goal of this research project was to collect data from students pertaining to the fourth floor about how they interact with spaces, what they currently like and dislike about the spaces, and ideas about how spaces could be improved. From this data, the project team sought realistic recommendations for changing spaces based on the data. Project Reno Alexandra Folsom, Aspen Reeves, Carlos Aguilar, Connor Anderson, Dean Maddox, Gabriel Pedraza, Matthew Early, Nabil Ahmed, Nor Hakeem-George Project Description: Over the past year cohort 5 has been working with Willis Libraries 4th floor, Music and Special Collections, and libraries to discover and design renovations based on student needs. The driving questions for both semesters stayed the same while our scope evolved across the year. Driving question: How might UNT renovate the 4th floor of the Willis Library to better meet the needs of its patrons, based on the perspective of students? Fall 23 Scope: Collect data and feedback from UNT students, analyze data to find the best fit for focus groups, collect additional data through impromptu speeches and tabling, and inform UNT library staff and stakeholders. Spring 24 Scope: Perform additional data analysis as needed, explore other libraries, and provide 2 design proposals. Improving Digital Library Image Accessibility with HTR William Hicks Project Description: This project’s purpose was to evaluate machine learning/AI tools that improve on traditional OCR technologies in such a way that they can read and transcribe handwritten text. administrative_office_in_the_news_honors_and_awards_dean_s_innovation_grant
Posted:
10/31/2024
Dean's Innovation Grant 2023
The University of North Texas Libraries’ Dean’s Innovation Grant, provides funding to research and projects within the UNT Libraries. The University of North Texas Libraries’ Dean’s Innovation Grant, provides funding to research and projects within the UNT Libraries that promote scholarship and contribute to the gathering of knowledge that helps improve our libraries, our university, and the community. Dean’s Innovation Grant 2023 Awardees The Soundbox: A Music Engagement Lab David Huff; Kristin Wolski; Sabino Fernandez; Justin Lemons; Steven Sellers Project Description: The Soundbox was designed as a public space within the Music Library where UNT community members can engage with various types of music technology to learn and create. The overall goal was to utilize Music Library space for public use in a way that increases engagement. The project was also meant to gather data about services that students may need or want access to. Creating Greater Accessibility to Special Collections Materials for Patrons with Vision Disabilities Meagan May Project Description: This project aimed to create greater accessibility to archival and rare materials in UNT Special Collections for patrons with reduced or low vision disabilities through the purchase of Freedom Scientific’s TOPAZ XL HD desktop video magnifier and the creation of an accessibility station for the Judge Sarah T. Hughes Reading Room. This desktop magnifier, along with its accompanying GEM software, will allow patrons to magnify, adjust, enhance, capture, and save documents, photographs, artifacts, manuscripts, and other materials to meet a variety of vision accessibility needs. Holistic Collection Assessment Karen Harker, Sephra Byrne, Allyson Rodriguez, Stacey Wolf, Julie Leuzinger, Sian Brannon Project Description: The UNT Libraries has been making efforts to address the vestiges of systemic oppression of socially and politically minoritized populations. In order to ensure that our materials represent specific groups well, we embarked on a journey with the primary objective being a methodology to assess any targeted collection for representation of any identity group. To this end, we conducted a survey and a focus group, and we consulted with an advisory group consisting of representatives from the library, student affairs, and the professorate. The funds requested were used to hold the focus group and to fund a temporary student assistant who analyzed data and collected lists for the final methodology. Creating an Inclusive Environment for Student-Parents Madison Brents, Emily Akers Project Description: College students who are also parenting young children often face additional challenges on their path to academic success. These challenges can include a scarcity of finances, childcare, and time, but it also oftentimes includes facing an unwelcoming environment created by stigmas associated with parenting while in college. These feelings can become amplified in an academic library, a space viewed as traditionally quiet and designed with the traditional student in mind. Feeling unwelcome in such an environment while accompanied by a lively child can hinder student-parents’ ability to utilize the academic library and its resources. Despite these additional challenges, student parents are not often targeted with support and resources. UNT Libraries attempted to begin addressing this issue through two initiatives: circulating toys and books for young children and hosting designated study hours for student-parents. The Music Library Picture Show: Creating a “Third Place” for Denton Students Meghan Sprabary; Kristin Wolski Project Description: The aim of the Music Library Picture Show demonstration project was to learn about how event programming affects student attitudes about the library and to position the library as a viable “third place” for UNT students and visiting high school students. To achieve this, the team hosted five musical film screening events. With these events, our goal was to provide a space for students to decrease anxiety and to learn about their perceptions of the Music Library. Making Our Library Spaces More Accessible: Accessible Furniture for Sycamore Library Jen Rowe, Mary Ann Venner, Robbie Sittel Project Description: Feedback from library users and staff, collected via a survey of students with disabilities and a separate survey of library employees, highlighted a need for more accessible furniture in library spaces. This project was undertaken, to improve the accessibility of the learning spaces at Sycamore Library by adding some new furniture items. administrative_office_in_the_news_honors_and_awards_dean_s_innovation_grant
Posted:
10/31/2024
What's Crocking with the Digital Scholarship Committee
In conjunction with the World Digital Preservation Day, the UNT Libraries Digital Scholarship Committee invites you to participate in the return of What’s Crocking. In conjunction with the World Digital Preservation Day, the UNT Libraries Digital Scholarship Committee invites you to participate in the return of What’s Crocking. Attendees are encouraged to bring dishes (either in a crock pot or not) inspired by digitally preserved recipes. They will be provided the opportunity to share digital scholarship successes and seek collaborators and/or resources from other attendees on projects they have been considering. Food is free on a first-come basis. The room booking begins at 9 AM, and dishes should be ready to eat by 11:30 AM. Please contact Jacob.Mangum@unt.edu to register to bring your crock of goodness or to ask any questions. Engage with us on X at #WDPD2024. digital_libraries_in_the_news
Posted:
10/28/2024
UNT Special Collections Partners with 'The Village'
UNT Special Collections is pleased to announce a new partnership with Donald “Tortellini” Thomas II for the purposes of sharing and promoting culturally relevant content from the NBC5/KXAS Television News Archive on The Village Oak Cliff Instagram channel: @villageoakcliff. This mutually beneficial collaboration will extend the reach the NBC5 archive, while showcasing historical news footage that celebrates the unique history and accomplishments of Oak Cliff for followers of @villageoakcliff. UNT Special Collections is pleased to announce a new partnership with Donald “Tortellini” Thomas II for the purposes of sharing and promoting culturally relevant content from the NBC5/KXAS Television News Archive on The Village Oak Cliff Instagram channel: @villageoakcliff. This mutually beneficial collaboration will extend the reach the NBC5 archive, while showcasing historical news footage that celebrates the unique history and accomplishments of Oak Cliff for followers of @villageoakcliff. “The Village” project was created by Don “Tortellini” Thomas as a preservation of culture through photography and cinematography, aimed to educate, preserve, represent, and contextualize life and history in Oak Cliff. There is an unquestionable community pride that resonates throughout the Oak Cliff; however, this unique context is often overshadowed by stories of crime and poverty. The Village is a place for people in the Oak Cliff community and beyond to learn about and celebrate their own people, places, and traditions. UNT Special Collections and @villageoak cliff share a mission to collect and share underrepresented stories—both current and historical. This partnership will further this educational mission by showcasing Oak Cliff history and culture in a popular social media platform and encouraging community input and engagement as people share and discuss archival news footage. Sharing this important history will help inspire generations to come. UNT Special Collections has managed the archive of NBC5 since 2014, and over the past 10 years has digitized approximately half of the film and video footage in the oldest and largest television news archive in Texas. UNT Special Collections has exclusive rights to license and provide permission for use of footage from the archive. Footage provided to @villageoakcliff is intended for educational, non-commercial use. Any requests for use of footage beyond viewing on @villageoakcliff should be directed to specialcollections@unt.edu. UNT Special Collections is already familiar Thomas’s work, having acquired a series of his original photography in 2021 and partnering with Thomas to provide NBC5 footage for his short film Chaos on Commerce in 2024. This new project will further extend our already productive relationship to include @villageoakcliff. We are looking forward to working together! special_collections_in_the_news
Posted:
10/16/2024
Artist Lecture: Dana Fritz
The Cathy N. Hartman Portal to Texas History Endowment, the UNT Libraries Special Collections Department, and the Department of Studio Art, Photography Area are pleased to present a lecture by Dana Fritz. The Cathy N. Hartman Portal to Texas History Endowment, the UNT Libraries Special Collections Department, and the Department of Studio Art, Photography Area are pleased to present a lecture by Dana Fritz. Dana Fritz is an acclaimed photographer whose artistic focus is to investigate the ways we shape and represent the natural world in cultivated and constructed landscapes. Her honors include an Arizona Commission on the Arts Fellowship, a Rotary Foundation Group Study Exchange to Japan, and a Society for Photographic Education Imagemaker Award. Professor Fritz’s work has been exhibited in over 140 venues including museums and arts centers around the globe. Her work has been supported by artist residencies at culturally significant sites and unique landscapes. The University of New Mexico Press published Terraria Gigantica: The World under Glass, in 2017. University of Nebraska Press published Field Guide to a Hybrid Landscape in 2023. She is the Hixson-Lied Professor of Art at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Presented jointly by the UNT Libraries and CVAD Photography Area. Made possible by The Cathy Nelson Hartman Portal to Texas History Endowment. Tuesday, October 22, 2024 at 2 pm College of Visual Arts & Design, Room 182 digital_libraries_presentations_and_lectures
Posted:
10/08/2024
Three Questions with Benjamin Young
Benjamin J. Young is a PhD Candidate in the Department of History at the University of Notre Dame. His principal research interests lie at the intersections of religion, political economy, and metropolitan development in modern American history. He is presently at work on a dissertation on the rise of evangelicalism in the metropolitan South from World War II to the 1990s. Three Questions is an initiative to share the value that our faculty, students, and external patrons derive from using the Portal to Texas History at UNT Libraries. 1. How important is hosting your organization’s historic materials on UNT’s Portal to Texas History for your patrons or visitors? The Portal has proven to be a vital component of my dissertation research on the rise of evangelicalism in the metropolitan South in the post-World War II, especially for the portions of my dissertation that focus on churches in the suburbs of Houston and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Prior to my use of the Portal, my research relied on on the archived issues of more widely available newspapers like the Dallas Morning News, Houston Chronicle, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. These newspapers tended to cover church life in outlying suburbs only sporadically, so the Portal’s large portfolio of digitized suburban newspapers like the Cedar Hill Chronicle, The Colony Courier, and the Baytown Sun, has greatly enhanced my study of suburban church life in both the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth areas. These newspapers not only contain articles on some of the key churches in my dissertation, but also a wealth of church advertisements for worship services, revivals, and community events that have provided key clues for how these churches organized, functioned, and grew or declined in tandem with their suburban surroundings. Alongside the Portal’s newspaper collections, its various map collections have helped me visualize the growth of these metropolitan areas across the twentieth century, while the City Directories Collection has helped me to trace the residential migration patterns of key individuals in my dissertation. 2. Can you tell us a story or two about how patrons or visitors have used your online collections that are hosted in the Portal? The Portal to Texas History’s text-searchable interface has expanded the scope of my research by enabling me to do targeted searches for articles, advertisements, and announcements connected to churches significant to my project. This ability has rounded out my understanding of how these churches organized, interacted with their neighborhoods, and fit into their cities’ growth trajectories. What year did a certain church move to a new location? When did it hire a new minister? When did it close? The Portal makes small but substantive research questions like these readily answerable, augmenting my in-person research at archives across Texas. 3. What do you want others to know about your experience partnering with UNT’s Portal to Texas History? I’m sure all historians would say what I’m about to say, but undertaking my dissertation research has solidified my appreciation and gratitude for the herculean labors of archivists and librarians who make historical research possible. I’m grateful for the efforts of the people of UNT Libraries and its institutional partners in launching and administering the Portal to Texas History, making such a wealth of a material available to scholars, students, and the general public. Benjamin J. Young is a PhD Candidate in the Department of History at the University of Notre Dame. His principal research interests lie at the intersections of religion, political economy, and metropolitan development in modern American history. He is presently at work on a dissertation on the rise of evangelicalism in the metropolitan South from World War II to the 1990s. external_relations_in_the_news_three_questions
Posted:
10/01/2024
Fall 2024 Coursework Development Grant
Special Collections is pleased to announce the recipient of the Coursework Development Grant for the Fall 2024 semester. Supported by the Toulouse Archival Research Program Endowment, the grant was established in 2019 to partner with faculty at UNT to develop assignments for courses that will utilize collections and materials held by Special Collections. Recipients of the grant are awarded $500 in research and professional development funding. Special Collections is pleased to announce the recipient of the Coursework Development Grant for the Fall 2024 semester. Supported by the Toulouse Archival Research Program Endowment, the grant was established in 2019 to partner with faculty at UNT to develop assignments for courses that will utilize collections and materials held by Special Collections. Recipients of the grant are awarded $500 in research and professional development funding. The Fall 2024 winner is: Dr. Carey Gibbons, Assistant Professor, Department of Art History Dr. Gibbons is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art History at the University of North Texas with a specialty in Victorian art and design, as well as the histories of illustration and graphic design. She recently had the opportunity to research Pre-Raphaelite drawing and illustration while undertaking a postdoctoral fellowship at The Morgan Library & Museum from 2021–22. In addition to teaching at other institutions including the Pratt Institute and Belmont University, she has curatorial experience at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum; the Columbia University Rare Book & Manuscript Library; and the Fisk University Galleries. She is also the Digital Art History Editor for the journal Nineteenth-Century Art Worldwide. The students in her Fall 2024 senior seminar course for undergraduate Art History majors, “Gender and Design, 1850–Today,” will produce a resource guide for UNT librarians, faculty, students, and external researchers tentatively titled, “Exploring Design and Gender through UNT Special Collections.” Each student will contribute a c. 500-word reading of a design (either an object or illustration in a rare book of journal) in Special Collections that foregrounds gender. These interpretive texts will serve as case studies providing a starting point for exploring gender in UNT Special Collections. The project is also designed to help students develop their research skills and hopefully increase their desire to work intimately and critically with rare and archival materials. Congratulations, Dr. Gibbons! special_collections_in_the_news
Posted:
09/06/2024
The Portal to Texas History reaches Twentieth Anniversary
The Portal to Texas History will reach a major milestone this week - the Twentieth Anniversary of providing online access to rare, historical and primary source materials about Texas. From humble beginnings, we’ve taken the lead in providing extraordinary access to Texas history with our 512 collaborative partners from across the state. Launched in 2004 with just one partner, the materials now number at over two million items that are accessed by researchers, students, and others around the world. The Portal to Texas History will reach a major milestone this week - the Twentieth Anniversary of providing online access to rare, historical and primary source materials about Texas. From humble beginnings, we’ve taken the lead in providing extraordinary access to Texas history with our 512 collaborative partners from across the state. Launched in 2004 with just one partner, the materials now number at over two million items that are accessed by researchers, students, and others around the world. Founded by Associate Dean Emeritus, Cathy Nelson Hartman, planning for the project began in 2002, and over time has transformed the way that historians and other people research and understand our state. The two million items in the Portal comprise nearly twenty million digital files that are used nearly 1.5 million times each month, and the materials continue to grow. Collection highlights include: The Texas Digital Newspaper Program collection which is the largest, single-state, openly accessible digital newspaper repository in the U.S., with over one million newspaper issues from 1813 to the present. The KXAS-NBC 5 News Collection which features news reels and other content from the first television news station in Texas. Donald F. Baker Collection (The Dallas Way), which is just one collection among many that pull from the largest LGBTQ archive in the state, housed in UNT Special Collections. Donald Baker was the plaintiff in Baker v. Wade case which was a civil rights victory with national implications. Moses and Stephen F. Austin Papers which provide in-depth insight into Austin’s management of the Austin colony; the events leading up to the Texas Revolution and then the Revolution itself; and the first few months of the Republic of Texas. (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History) The National Museum of the Pacific War collections which honor the eight million Americans who served in WWII in the Pacific Theater by sharing their stories with the world. Map Collections from the University of Texas at Arlington which features over 5,000 maps depicting all parts of the world, the collection emphasizes the Gulf Coast region and the greater Southwest. It includes maps dating from 1493 to the present. The Cattle Raisers Museum collections which represent the oldest and largest organization of its kind in the U.S. dedicated to the cattle industry. The Permian Basin Petroleum Museum, Library and Hall of Fame which explores the lives of the West Texas ranching heritage, life in the Permian Basin boom towns, and early oilfield camps. The Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company archives which document the history of U.S. aeronautic and military history, especially during WWII. The Dallas Municipal Archives collections which feature materials from the Dallas Police Department’s investigation of assassination of President John F. Kennedy, as well as collections covering Bonnie and Clyde and the development of Love Field. The Portal’s many partners across the state form the heart of what the Portal team has accomplished over the years, and we cannot thank them enough for their trust, hard work, and collaboration in helping us reach this momentous goal. To explore a more in-depth history about the history and development of the Portal, please read “UNT’s Portal to Texas History changed the way scholars research the state,” by Heather Noel. We thank our many funders who have helped us get here: The National Endowment for the Humanities, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, The National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, the Texas State Library and Archives Commission’s grant programs, Humanities Texas, the Texas Historical Commission, the State of Texas Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund, the Tocker Foundation, the Summerlee Foundation, the Kempner Fund, the Ladd & Katherine Hancher Foundation; and the Matagator Foundation, the Amon Carter Foundation, The Adeline and George McQueen Foundation, the Summerfield G. Roberts Foundation, the Forrest C. Lattner Foundation, the Dodge Jones Foundation, the George Foundation, the Henderson-Wessendorff Foundation, the Union Pacific Foundation, The H.L. Brown Jr. Family Foundation, The Burdine Johnson Foundation, and the Abilene Library Consortium. We also thank the hundreds and hundreds of individual donors and community volunteers that have supported us in reaching our goals. digital_libraries_in_the_news
Posted:
08/19/2024
One-Million Issues in the Texas Digital Newspaper Program
The Texas Digital Newspaper Program on The Portal to Texas History has reached a huge milestone of over one-million newspaper issues openly available! These one-million newspaper issues comprise 11,256,533 pages, contributed by 226 partners from across Texas, and representing 210 counties. The Texas Digital Newspaper Program on The Portal to Texas History has reached a huge milestone of over one-million newspaper issues openly available! These one-million newspaper issues comprise 11,256,533 pages, contributed by 226 partners from across Texas, and representing 210 counties. Multiple partners have helped to build the Texas Digital Newspaper Program Collection, to make it the largest, single-state, openly accessible digital newspaper repository in the U.S. These include: The Abilene Library Consortium, who has supported addition of over 44,000 newspaper issues, Sterling Municipal Library in Baytown, with a collection hosting over 29,000 newspaper issues, Denton Public Library, hosting over 19,000 newspaper issues, And the Texas State Library and Archives Commission began a new newspaper collection last year that is now just over 14,000 issues. The staff in the Digital Newspaper Unit get to handle almost every newspaper that is uploaded into the TDNP collection, and we all have a favorite newspaper title, masthead, or time period. Tim Gieringer, who oversees the newspaper descriptions for what you see in the Texas Digital Newspaper Program, loves a good masthead. He says that two titles, in particular, have stood out to him: The Palacios Beacon and Diogenes. Brooke Edsall, the head of the physical page and large-format scanning area, has said that her favorite newspaper collections are The Galveston Tribune and The Ennis Daily News. Hannah Lindsey, who oversees newspaper issue processing, says that her favorite newspapers are the Beeville Bee, the Houston Informer, and Svoboda. Sarah Lynn Fisher, former staff member of the Newspaper Unit and now Digital Collections Librarian, reports that she loves all of the local Denton newspapers, including UNT’s own NT Daily, the Denton Record-Chronicle, and her hometown newspaper, The Allen American. As the person who has worked with all the partners across Texas to add their newspapers, I’m not sure how to begin choosing a favorite title, though I do love reading through the Spanish-language newspapers, civil rights newspapers, like The Chicano Times, and this wacky handwritten, Union POW camp newspaper, The Old Flag. All of the newspaper issues you see in the Texas Digital Newspaper Program represent conversations and people who have worked hard to preserve and build access to history, and while we mention some titles here, we value every single page and every single person who has helped to grow this collection. Access to the newspapers available in the Texas Digital Newspaper Program has been supported by multiple financial donors, including the National Endowment for the Humanities, through the National Digital Newspaper Program; the Texas State Library and Archives Commission TexTreasures Competitive Grant Program, funded by the Institution of Museum & Library Services Library Services Technology Act; the Tocker Foundation; the Summerlee Foundation; the Ladd & Katherine Hancher Foundation; and the Matagator Foundation. digital_libraries_in_the_news_resource_highlight_eresources
Posted:
07/18/2024
UNT Libraries releases the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy Collection
The University of North Texas Libraries is excited to release the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy Collection in the UNT Digital Library. This collection features over 120 resources about the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) toward government, legislative and procedural policy. We expect this collection to grow over the upcoming year with new publications being added as they are identified and collected. The University of North Texas Libraries is excited to release the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy Collection in the UNT Digital Library. This collection features over 120 resources about the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) toward government, legislative and procedural policy. We expect this collection to grow over the upcoming year with new publications being added as they are identified and collected. Items in this collection are published by city and state governments, international government agencies, federal agencies, non-governmental agencies, and private research institutes. Users of the collection can expect resources that include official government reports, suggested policy implementation frameworks, proposed procedural guidelines and summarized research pertaining to AI and ML implementation. Included in the reports are updates of original findings from previous years, allowing users to follow the progression of an agency’s goals concerning the implementation of AI policy over time. “Many libraries are discussing how they will contribute to the landscape of Artificial Intelligence on their campuses and in their organizations. This collection of publications allows us to provide a resource we are uniquely positioned to create. Libraries have always identified, collected, and described materials for our users. This is just another way we can assist in this changing landscape.” - Mark Phillips, Associate Dean for Digital Libraries. The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy collection is freely available in the UNT Digital Library, and we are interested in suggestions for additional resources as they are released and identified. digital_libraries_in_the_news
Posted:
06/26/2024
Luther Smith Photography Collection
The Luther Smith Photography Collection was acquired in 2022. Processing has now wrapped on the collection, and it is available for use. The collection contains the photographs, negatives, slides, papers and publications of Emeritus Professor of Art Photography, Luther Smith, of Texas Christian University. The Luther Smith Photography Collection was acquired in 2022. Processing has now wrapped on the collection, and it is available for use. The collection contains the photographs, negatives, slides, papers and publications of Emeritus Professor of Art Photography, Luther Smith, of Texas Christian University. Smith lived in Mississippi for ten years as a child, then moved to Aurora, Illinois, where he later attended college at the University of Urbana/Champaign. Many of the photographs in the collection are of people the photographer has known over the years, including friends, colleagues, and family members. In the college years of the 1970s, Smith experimented with infrared photography in the form of portraits which were then exhibited or published in photography journals or exhibition catalogs. He later attended the Rhode Island School of Design for graduate work, where he continued his studies in photography. Smith returned to the University of Illinois after graduate school for a teaching position where he began work on his High School series of images. These images continued when he moved to Texas in 1983, exploring imagery which evolved into the High School Rodeo photographs. Both subjects provide literal snapshots of student life throughout the 1980s along with their activities and demonstrate what adolescent life was like in a community where horses and cattle are such a strong part of the Texas identity. Luther Smith is also a landscape photographer whose work contains images of the Trinity River, a project to which he devoted considerable time beginning in the early 1980s. His book, Trinity River, was published by TCU Press in The book and photographs are a historical record of the river, along with its many streams and branches which span throughout the eastern part of Texas. In his ongoing series of nature images, Smith incorporates a unique color palette into his photographs. The images in this series are vibrant depictions of the local landscape and are part of the artist’s Where I Live photographs. His eye for color and composition forces the viewer to take a deeper look at their ordinary surroundings in an appreciation of the natural beauty of the environment. Indeed, many images have been elevated to unearthly levels, where one may consider what our impact is as human beings who constantly alter our environments, and not always for the better. In 2018, Smith retired from Texas Christian University, where he worked for 35 years. The exhibit My Time at TCU featured photographs of the artist’s work and included images from 45 years of his life. He continues to work and exhibit at William Campbell Gallery in Fort Worth. Smith’s work is included in the collections of the Amon Carter Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Art Museum of South Texas, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Illinois State Museum, the High Museum of Art, the Library of Congress, the Arkansas Arts Center and other noteworthy institutions. For more information on the collection, please visit the finding aid. View digitized items from the Luther Smith Photography Collection in The Portal to Texas History. special_collections_in_the_news
Posted:
05/16/2024
The Portal to Texas History 2024 Research Fellowship Awardee - Benjamin J. Young
Benjamin J. Young is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at the University of Notre Dame and a 2024–2025 Distinguished Graduate Fellow at the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study. His principal research interests lie at the intersections of religion, political economy, and metropolitan development in modern American history. His work has appeared in venues like Cold War History, Modern American History, The Metropole, and The Washington Post. Before coming to Notre Dame, he received his BA in History and Religion from Baylor University. The Portal to Texas History 2023 Research Fellowship Awardee Benjamin J. Young Project Title Suburbs of Zion: Evangelicals and the Making of the Metropolitan South, 1940–2000 Project Description Young’s dissertation focuses on born-again Protestants in the post-World War II South, tracing how they adapted to, leveraged, and networked between the region’s emerging metropolitan landscapes to become a leading force in American life in the late twentieth century. By situating southern evangelicalism’s evolution and ascent within the rapid growth of southern metropolises like Houston, Atlanta, and the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, this project casts new light on the historical relationships between suburbanization, capitalism, conservatism, race, and religious experience. Biography Benjamin J. Young is a PhD candidate in the Department of History at the University of Notre Dame and a 2024–2025 Distinguished Graduate Fellow at the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study. His principal research interests lie at the intersections of religion, political economy, and metropolitan development in modern American history. His work has appeared in venues like Cold War History, Modern American History, The Metropole, and The Washington Post. Before coming to Notre Dame, he received his BA in History and Religion from Baylor University. digital_libraries_in_the_news_honors_and_awards_research_fellowships
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05/01/2024
The Portal to Texas History 2024 Research Fellowship Awardee - Omar Valerio-Jiménez
Omar Valerio-Jiménez is Professor of History at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He teaches courses on Latinxs, borderlands, Texas, race/ethnicity, and immigration. His publications include Remembering Conquest: Mexican Americans, Memory, and Citizenship (University of North Carolina Press, 2024), The Latina/o Midwest Reader (University of Illinois Press, 2017), Major Problems in Latina/o History (Cengage/Wadsworth, 2014), and River of Hope: Forging Identity and Nation in the Rio Grande Borderlands (Duke University Press, 2013). With funding by an Award for Faculty from the National Endowment for the Humanities, he is working on his third book, “Challenging Exclusion in Education,” a comparative study of educational reform efforts in New Mexico and Texas. The Portal to Texas History 2023 Research Fellowship Awardee Omar Valerio-Jiménez Project Title Challenging Exclusion in Texas Project Description This project explores challenges to the omissions and negative characterizations of Mexican Americans in public school textbooks of Texas between 1880 and 1940. The Portal to Texas History has significant primary sources on historian Carlos E. Castañeda, writer and historical preservationist Adina de Zavala, lawyer and legislator José T. Canales, and writer and educator Elena Zamora O’Shea. My research using the Portal to Texas History will result in a journal article, and subsequently, in a book published with an academic press. Biography Omar Valerio-Jiménez is Professor of History at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He teaches courses on Latinxs, borderlands, Texas, race/ethnicity, and immigration. His publications include Remembering Conquest: Mexican Americans, Memory, and Citizenship (University of North Carolina Press, 2024), The Latina/o Midwest Reader (University of Illinois Press, 2017), Major Problems in Latina/o History (Cengage/Wadsworth, 2014), and River of Hope: Forging Identity and Nation in the Rio Grande Borderlands (Duke University Press, 2013). With funding by an Award for Faculty from the National Endowment for the Humanities, he is working on his third book, “Challenging Exclusion in Education,” a comparative study of educational reform efforts in New Mexico and Texas. digital_libraries_in_the_news_honors_and_awards_research_fellowships
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05/01/2024
The Portal to Texas History 2024 Research Fellowship Awardee - Patricia G. Markert
Patricia Markert is an historical archaeologist whose research examines the material and narrative ways communities engage in placemaking in the generations following migration events. She is also interested in the ways national myths exist in conversation with local migration narratives and practices. Since 2017, she has directed the community-based Old D’Hanis Archaeological Mapping Project and the Castro Colonies Oral History Project in Medina County, TX. Her work has been supported by the Mellon Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies, Wenner-Gren Foundation, National Geographic Society, Binghamton University, Western University, Council of Texas Archeologists, and Medina County Historical Commission. She is an assistant professor of anthropology at The University of Western Ontario. The Portal to Texas History 2023 Research Fellowship Awardee Dr. Patricia G. Markert Project Title The Storied Landscape: A Century of Placemaking in D’Hanis, TX Project Description D’Hanis, TX sits at the intersection of Alsatian, German, and Mexican migration to Texas in the 19th and 20th centuries. This project will assemble stories from Texas newspapers (c. 1847-1947) to situate D’Hanis and its archaeological landscape within the broader landscape of political, social, and ideological changes occurring during a century of mass settlement and displacement, civil and world wars, racialization and segregation, and national mythmaking. This descriptive catalog, layered with the archaeological study of D’Hanis’ rubble-rock ruins and oral history with community members, will contribute to the development of a book project, local heritage efforts, and several scholarly and creative outputs. Biography Patricia Markert is an historical archaeologist whose research examines the material and narrative ways communities engage in placemaking in the generations following migration events. She is also interested in the ways national myths exist in conversation with local migration narratives and practices. Since 2017, she has directed the community-based Old D’Hanis Archaeological Mapping Project and the Castro Colonies Oral History Project in Medina County, TX. Her work has been supported by the Mellon Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies, Wenner-Gren Foundation, National Geographic Society, Binghamton University, Western University, Council of Texas Archeologists, and Medina County Historical Commission. She is an assistant professor of anthropology at The University of Western Ontario. digital_libraries_in_the_news_honors_and_awards_research_fellowships
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05/01/2024
The Portal to Texas History 2024 Research Fellowship Awardee - Sam W. Haynes
Sam W. Haynes is a professor of History at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he also serves as director of the Center for Greater Southwestern Studies. He is the author of four books and several edited works that focus on the history of race, national identity, and power in nineteenth century Texas and the American Southwest. His most recent work, Unsettled Land: From Revolution to Republic, The Struggle for Texas, was published by Basic Books in 2022. As Center director, Haynes also oversees two digital humanities projects, “A Continent Divided: The U.S.-Mexico War,” and “Texas in Turmoil: Mapping Interethnic Violence, 1821-1879.” The Portal to Texas History 2023 Research Fellowship Awardee Sam W. Haynes Project Title Texas in Turmoil: Mapping Interethnic Violence, 1821-1879 Project Description “Texas in Turmoil: Mapping Interethnic Violence, 1821-1879,” is a digital humanities project that seeks to map incidents of violence among the peoples of Texas over the course of more than a half a century, from the birth of the Mexican republic in the early 1820s to the end of Reconstruction and the so-called “Indian Wars.” When complete, it will have mapped approximately 3,000 sites of conflict, providing scholars and teachers with new ways to understand and visualize the interethnic struggles that represent such a conspicuous and protracted feature of the state’s early modern past. Biography Sam W. Haynes is a professor of History at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he also serves as director of the Center for Greater Southwestern Studies. He is the author of four books and several edited works that focus on the history of race, national identity, and power in nineteenth century Texas and the American Southwest. His most recent work, Unsettled Land: From Revolution to Republic, The Struggle for Texas, was published by Basic Books in 2022. As Center director, Haynes also oversees two digital humanities projects, “A Continent Divided: The U.S.-Mexico War,” and “Texas in Turmoil: Mapping Interethnic Violence, 1821-1879.” digital_libraries_in_the_news_honors_and_awards_research_fellowships
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05/01/2024
The Portal to Texas History 2024 Research Fellowship Awardee - Holly L. Harris
Holly Harris is a PhD student and University PhD Fellow at Southern Methodist University. Holly’s research focuses on allied prisoners of war during the last year of World War II. She is interested in how these events connect to geopolitics, violence, memory, and welfare. Her research has been supported by the United States Air Force Academy, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the American Historical Association, the Society for Military History, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Portal to Texas History 2023 Research Fellowship Awardee Holly L. Harris Project Title Marching through Götterdämmerung: Second World War Anglo-American Airmen Prisoners of War and the Holocaust Project Description Holly’s project focuses on Anglo-American prisoners of war (POWs) during the last six months of World War II. During this timeframe, predominately American and British airmen POWs endured a series of forced “death marches” from the Eastern Front to central Germany– where they came face to face with the extreme suffering of Jewish people and Russian POWs as well. While the airmen themselves endured incredible hardship, they framed it in comparison with the other Nazi atrocities. She is also interested in how these events relate to broader issues in the memory studies field. Biography Holly Harris is a PhD student and University PhD Fellow at Southern Methodist University. Holly’s research focuses on allied prisoners of war during the last year of World War II. She is interested in how these events connect to geopolitics, violence, memory, and welfare. Her research has been supported by the United States Air Force Academy, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the American Historical Association, the Society for Military History, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. digital_libraries_in_the_news_honors_and_awards_research_fellowships
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05/01/2024
UNT Special Collections 2024 Research Fellowship Awardee - Brett Barnard
Brett Barnard is a dual degree candidate at the University of North Texas, having completed his M.L.S. with the College of Information, and currently completing his M.A. in History with the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. His research foci include cultural history, religious history, the history of American nuns, and the activities of the Catholic Church during the papacy of Pope Pius XII and the Second World War. At the time of writing, he has started a new position with the UNT Library Annex as a Graduate Student Assistant, helping with the organization and development of the inter-university Voices of the Eastern Shore Project. He received his B.A. from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin and hopes to pursue a career in academic librarianship, archival work, or education. UNT Special Collections 2024 Research Fellowship Awardee Brett Barnard Project Title Never Judge a Book by Its Cover: Mapping the Journeys of UNT’s Medieval Manuscript Collections Project Description This project seeks to analyze the “journeys” of the medieval and early manuscripts within the Special Collections here at UNT and analyze the “patterns” found within different information objects of the same category. Through a combination of artistic examination, historical research, and religious understanding, I plan to evaluate the physical information gleaned from these objects and how it can be best used in historical research regarding their origins. The project’s next stage involves digitally mapping the selected object’s journeys, carefully detailing their owners, unique aspects of their constructions, and the ways in which objects of similar formats compare, simultaneously increasing their accessibility for a large user base. Biography Brett Barnard is a dual degree candidate at the University of North Texas, having completed his M.L.S. with the College of Information, and currently completing his M.A. in History with the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. His research foci include cultural history, religious history, the history of American nuns, and the activities of the Catholic Church during the papacy of Pope Pius XII and the Second World War. At the time of writing, he has started a new position with the UNT Library Annex as a Graduate Student Assistant, helping with the organization and development of the inter-university Voices of the Eastern Shore Project. He received his B.A. from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin and hopes to pursue a career in academic librarianship, archival work, or education. special_collections_in_the_news_honors_and_awards_research_fellowships
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04/30/2024
UNT Special Collections 2024 Research Fellowship Awardee - Christine Adame
Christine Adame is an intermedia artist from Laredo, Texas. Her artwork relates to heritage, especially as informed by her mestiza identity. Her work resembles artifacts built from layered processes—including drawing, fibers, digital fabrication, and printmaking. Christine earned her B.S. in Architectural Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.F.A. in Intermedia Studio from The University of Texas at Arlington. She has exhibited in Texas, the Midwest, and Japan and has led digital fabrication workshops nationally and internationally. UNT Special Collections 2024 Research Fellowship Awardee Christine Adame Project Title Ranchera Futurism Project Description My project Ranchera Futurism is a future exhibition of artwork that will be inspired and fueled by research into Texas history and ranch life. As a research fellow of UNT Special Collections, I will research materials in the collection that reference the ranching history of Texas, with a special eye to photographic and illustrative materials. Biography Christine Adame is an intermedia artist from Laredo, Texas. Her artwork relates to heritage, especially as informed by her mestiza identity. Her work resembles artifacts built from layered processes—including drawing, fibers, digital fabrication, and printmaking. Christine earned her B.S. in Architectural Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.F.A. in Intermedia Studio from The University of Texas at Arlington. She has exhibited in Texas, the Midwest, and Japan and has led digital fabrication workshops nationally and internationally. special_collections_in_the_news_honors_and_awards_research_fellowships
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04/30/2024
UNT Special Collections 2024 Research Fellowship Awardee - Meredith Cawley
Meredith Cawley is a multimedia artist based in Texas. She currently teaches at the University of North Texas. Her 10 years as an outreach educator at the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History inspire, inform, and drive her practice. Her current line of inquiry focuses on how cultural opinions represent, shape, and affect the bear. UNT Special Collections 2024 Research Fellowship Awardee Meredith Cawley Project Title Extraterrestrial Custodians: Reimagining Conservation Through Speculative Fiction Project Description This project seeks to leverage the UNT Special Collections’ Jim Marrs archives to construct a speculative fiction narrative around bear conservation. Focused on an alternate reality where extraterrestrial forces intervene to prevent bear extinction, the work aims to meld cultural research with elements of science fiction. The proposed research will involve examining Marrs’ materials on UFOs and conspiracy theories to draw parallels with environmental stewardship and interspecies ethics. Artistic outputs will include a series of multimedia works that invite reconsideration of our ecological challenges and responsibilities. Biography Meredith Cawley is a multimedia artist based in Texas. She currently teaches at the University of North Texas. Her 10 years as an outreach educator at the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History inspire, inform, and drive her practice. Her current line of inquiry focuses on how cultural opinions represent, shape, and affect the bear. special_collections_in_the_news_honors_and_awards_research_fellowships
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04/30/2024
UNT Special Collections 2024 Research Fellowship Awardee - Julia Caswell Freund
Julia Caswell is an artist living and working in DFW. JCF’s art researches the nuances of cultural value systems through performance, video, and sculptural art making. Her work, influenced by her experiences as a neurodivergent individual, blends advertising aesthetics with mental health themes and early childhood testing and learning environments. She explores societal messages on happiness and self-perception, the invisibility of labor, and diversity of knowledge systems, creating immersive installations that engage both the body and cognition. Currently pursuing her MFA at the University of North Texas, Julia’s art invites viewers to question and reflect on human perception and societal narratives in a contemporary attention economy. UNT Special Collections 2024 Research Fellowship Awardee Julia Caswell Project Title Mistake-Out: Art from Researching the Liquid Paper Legacy Project Description Julia Caswell Freund will research the Liquid Paper Corporation’s Archive, focusing on gendered clerical work. Through an artist talk and series of conceptual works, she seeks to uncover insights about cultural value and labor systems in businesses of 1980s Dallas, paying tribute to the longstanding artistic legacy of Liquid Paper’s founder, Bette Graham. Biography Julia Caswell is an artist living and working in DFW. JCF’s art researches the nuances of cultural value systems through performance, video, and sculptural art making. Her work, influenced by her experiences as a neurodivergent individual, blends advertising aesthetics with mental health themes and early childhood testing and learning environments. She explores societal messages on happiness and self-perception, the invisibility of labor, and diversity of knowledge systems, creating immersive installations that engage both the body and cognition. Currently pursuing her MFA at the University of North Texas, Julia’s art invites viewers to question and reflect on human perception and societal narratives in a contemporary attention economy. Visit www.juliacaswell.com to see images of her work and more. special_collections_in_the_news_honors_and_awards_research_fellowships
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04/30/2024
UNT Special Collections 2024 Research Fellowship Awardee - Heather Myers
Heather Myers is from Altoona, PA. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from West Virginia University. She is a PhD candidate in Creative Writing at the University of North Texas. She was a 2018 AWP Intros Award Winner. Her work can be found or is forthcoming in Door=Jar, Keystone: Poets on Pennsylvania, The Journal, Palette Poetry, Puerto Del Sol and elsewhere. UNT Special Collections 2024 Research Fellowship Awardee Heather Myers Project Title Portraiture and Paper Dolls: A Look at Women’s Lives Project Description Heather’s project is an examination of lineage and gender that will focus on material and artifacts like paper dolls. It will be a hybrid essay primarily crafted through collage, or an essay constructed in fragments, that examines the women in Heather’s lineage; she also plans to incorporate visual elements inspired by the artist Patricia Fertel. Through the Patricia Fertel Collection, she will examine femininity, girlhood, and womanhood, along with culture and the preoccupations that shaped women’s lives. Biography Heather Myers is from Altoona, PA. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from West Virginia University. She is a PhD candidate in Creative Writing at the University of North Texas. She was a 2018 AWP Intros Award Winner. Her work can be found or is forthcoming in Door=Jar, Keystone: Poets on Pennsylvania, The Journal, Palette Poetry, Puerto Del Sol and elsewhere. special_collections_in_the_news_honors_and_awards_research_fellowships
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04/30/2024
Open Access Symposium Summer Speaker Series
This year’s OA Symposium is being scheduled to coincide with OA Week (October 21-27, 2024), but we’re not letting the conversation wait until October! Instead, we’re hosting the OA Summer Speaker Series. The series will feature open access practitioners and advocates in a series of talks on the third Thursday of each month this summer. This year’s OA Symposium is being scheduled to coincide with OA Week (October 21-27, 2024), but we’re not letting the conversation wait until October! Instead, we’re hosting the OA Summer Speaker Series. The series will feature open access practitioners and advocates in a series of talks on the third Thursday of each month this summer. This is a collaborative event between the University of North Texas Libraries and the Texas State University Libraries. All talks will take place via Zoom and will run from 1-2 p.m. on Thursdays: May 16, June 20, July 18, and August 15. Register here to save the dates! Our May session, “Toward Equity in Global Scholarly Communication: The Role of OA in Reducing Epistemic Injustices,” and our speakers include our own Dr. Daniel Gelaw Alemneh, the head of the Digital Curation Unit at the UNT Libraries, and Dr. Angel Y. Ford, Assistant Professor at University at Albany’s College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity and the director of the Global Epistemic Justice Lab. You can also find us at TCDL, where we’ll be chatting about OA topics to help us plan the OA Symposium. If you have questions, please contact: scholarlycommunication@unt.edu. digital_libraries_presentations_and_lectures
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04/17/2024
13th Biennial Artists' Book Competition Winners
UNT Special Collections is excited to announce the winners and honorable mentions of the 13th Biennial Artists’ Book Competition. We received 40 entries, and after much deliberation our panel of judges have selected… UNT Special Collections is excited to announce the winners and honorable mentions of the 13th Biennial Artists’ Book Competition. We received 40 entries, and after much deliberation our panel of judges have selected the following: Winner of the Purchase Prize ($400): In My World Are Many Windows by Sarah Abigail Rainey Second Place: Bless Your Heart by Kelly Waller Honorable Mentions: Insect Hotel by Denise Castaneda The Stoop by Jenkins McAlister Case #xxxx by Chris Barcak Self-Portraits in the Elevator by Karla Ramirez-Santin The Movies that Made Me: Vol 1 by Alyssa Berry Burned by Natalie Self Diary of an Only Girl (mini journal) by Izzy Sneed These works join the ranks of our previous competition winners and honorable mentions which you can view on our Exhibits website. special_collections_in_the_news
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04/12/2024
LOVING: A Photographic History of Men in Love
Please join UNT Special Collections on March 6 for a special presentation by Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell, authors of LOVING: A Photographic History of Men in Love. Please join UNT Special Collections on March 6 for a special presentation by Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell, authors of LOVING: A Photographic History of Men in Love. When: March 6, 2024, 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. Where: Willis Library, room 443 (adjacent to Special Collections) LOVING: A Photographic History of Men in Love, 1850s - 1950s was published internationally in 2020 in five languages, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and English. The authors will discuss how this project came into being, as well as the archeological aspect of such photos, the oldest taken 170 years ago, and then kept hidden for their very survival. Only one verifiable story exists within their collection. It includes the intersection of two WWII soldiers from Texas, a royal German couple, orders directly from Hitler, and the liberation of Dachau Concentration Camp. Over the last twenty-four years Hugh and Neal unearthed these artifacts, one by one, and placed them into what would come to be known as, “the accidental collection.” Now numbering over 4000, they continue their collecting today. UNT Special Collections is a leader in the collection and preservation of rare and unique materials that document the history of LGBTQ people and communities. This major collecting initiative involves working with community partners to collection primary source materials, including letters, photographs, newspapers and magazines, scrapbooks, diaries, audio-visual materials, organizational records, posters, flyers, and objects. Many of these collections have been digitized and are available in [The Portal to Texas History][]. The event is free and open to the public. No registration is required. [The Portal to Texas History]: https://texashistory.unt.edu/explore/partners/UNTA/browse/?fq=untl_collection%3ALGBT special_collections_in_the_news
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02/28/2024
Texas Edges Lecture Series: Andrew Graybill
This year’s speaker for the Texas Edges Lecture Series will be Andrew Graybill, Professor of History and the Director of the William Clements Center for Southwest Studies at Southern Methodist University. This year’s speaker for the Texas Edges Lecture Series will be Andrew Graybill. The lecture will take place March 20 at 2:00 in Willis 250H. Andrew Graybill will deliver his lecture “The Texas Rangers at 200: Myth and History”. Abstract: The most famous constabulary in the world (with apologies to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) celebrated its bicentennial in 2023. Presented with an opportunity to think more critically about the Rangers and their controversial role in shaping modern Texas, the bicentennial commission chose instead to double down on the mythology of the force rather than engaging in a long overdue public reckoning. Dr. Andrew Graybill will discuss what the history and mythology surrounding the Texas Rangers means today. Biography Andrew Graybill is Professor of History and the Director of the William Clements Center for Southwest Studies at Southern Methodist University. digital_libraries_presentations_and_lectures
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02/22/2024
Three Questions with John Slate at the Dallas Municipal Archives
The Dallas Municipal Archives has been a Portal to Texas History partner since 2009, with over 7,000 of their historical items online, which have been used 4.4 million times since the partnership began. Their collections document notable events in Dallas history such as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the activities of the Clyde Barrow Gang, and the general overall growth of the city of Dallas. Three Questions is an initiative to share the value that our faculty, students, and external patrons derive from using the Portal to Texas History at UNT Libraries. 1. How important is hosting your organization’s historic materials on UNT’s Portal to Texas History for your patrons or visitors? Very important! Considering economies of scale, the Portal is a godsend for archives programs like ours. We do not have reliable options for serving up our photographs and documents. It’s a perfect fit for the Dallas Municipal Archives because we can achieve our mission of access to our materials on a scale that we could never do on our own. We are deeply grateful to UNT for creating, hosting, and maintaining the Portal for everyone to use. 2. Can you tell us a story or two about how patrons or visitors have used your online collections that are hosted in the Portal? Our most requested collection, the President John F. Kennedy/Dallas Police Department Collection, is available for use 24/7 to a hungry audience of students, independent researchers, professional authors, amateur sleuths, and other users. Considering the fragile nature of the originals, it is terrific that we can direct users to the Portal. There young students can do class assignments with primary source materials; high school, college, and graduate students can write their papers and can research any aspect of the JFK assassination without making an appointment; and conspiracy researchers can peruse our documents and photographs to their hearts’ delight. Thanks to a Texas State Library and Archives Commission’s TexTreasures grant, this collection can be used and enjoyed by multiple audiences with completely unfettered access. 3. What do you want others to know about your experience partnering with UNT’s Portal to Texas History? The Dallas Municipal Archives experience with the Portal is a win-win. We love that our materials are available for anyone with access to the Internet. Clicking on history from the comfort of your own surroundings makes research that much easier—especially if you are a student at 3 am with a paper due later that day. The Portal also gives researchers an idea of what we have on offer, and they can use those details, along with our own website, to decide whether an in-person appointment would further their projects. For us, the Portal is important for conducting our own searches down the rabbit holes of Texas history. The Portal assists us with performing our work for the City of Dallas, supporting our customers, and enabling us to see archival colleagues’ online collections. The Dallas Municipal Archives has been a Portal to Texas History partner since 2009, with over 7,000 of their historical items online, which have been used 4.4 million times since the partnership began. Their collections document notable events in Dallas history such as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the activities of the Clyde Barrow Gang, and the general overall growth of the city of Dallas. external_relations_in_the_news_three_questions
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01/29/2024
From Artists' Books to Zines
From Artists’ Books to Zines is a new initiative from UNT Special Collections in conjunction with our Biennial Artists’ Book Competition to provide students and other attendees interested in the book arts field an opportunity to connect with other artists and creators working in the medium, foster engaging scholarship and discussion related to the field, explore and promote the reemergence of zines and their connections to the book arts field, and to honor and celebrate the participants and winners of the 2023-2024 Artists’ Book Competition cycle. Date and Time: Saturday, March 23, 2024, 8am-4pm Location: Willis Library From Artists’ Books to Zines is a new initiative from UNT Special Collections in conjunction with our Biennial Artists’ Book Competition to provide students and other attendees interested in the book arts field an opportunity to connect with other artists and creators working in the medium, foster engaging scholarship and discussion related to the field, explore and promote the reemergence of zines and their connections to the book arts field, and to honor and celebrate the participants and winners of the 2023-2024 Artists’ Book Competition cycle. During From Artists’ Books to Zines, attendees will have the opportunity to listen to curated panels related to the book arts featuring UNT and TWU faculty, community organizers, and artists, hear a keynote presentation with recognized book artist Candace Hicks, view a pop-up exhibition of 2023-2024 Artists’ Book Competition entries, take part in a collaborative zine workshop, attend the official opening of UNT Special Collection’s new browsable zine library, and attend the reception for the Artists’ Book Competition where winners and honorable mentions will be recognized and announced. The symposium will be free to attend and food and refreshments will be provided throughout the day, but registration will be required due to space constraints. Register for From Artists’ Books to Zines here. From Artists’ Books to Zines Symposium Schedule Saturday, March 23, 2024 Willis Library, UNT Denton Time Event Location 8:00am - 8:45am Registration Check In and Breakfast 250H 8:45am - 9:00am Welcome 250H 9:00am - 10:00am Artists' Books Panel 250H 10:00am - 10:15am Break 10:15am - 11:15am Zines Panel 250H 11:15am - 12:15pm Zine Workshop 250 C/H/J 12:15pm - 1:15pm Lunch / Zine Workshop Cont. 250 C/H/J 1:15pm - 1:30pm Break 1:30pm - 2:30pm Keynote with Candace Hicks 250H 2:30pm - 4:00pm 13th Biennial Artists' Book Competition Reception 443 9:00am - 1:30pm UNT Zine Library Grand Opening 437 9:00am - 1:30pm 13th Biennial Artists' Book Competition Pop-Up Exhibit 443 Panelist & Speaker Bios Candace Hicks (Keynote Speaker) Candace Hicks collects coincidences from the books she reads in her artists’ books and installations. With the exhibition Read Me at Lawndale Art Center, Hicks opened the book form into a room-sized interactive installation in which viewers pieced together a puzzle of narrative to find the correct solution. The Locked Room at Living Arts in Tulsa focused on a specific genre of literature the “locked room” mystery, and visitors were tasked with the challenge to find the means of metaphorically escaping the gallery. For Many Mini Murder Scenes at Women and Their Work, Hicks reproduced tableaux plucked from crime fiction and offered viewers the experience of playing a detective searching for clues. Books from her Common Threads series are in more than 80 collections around the world including, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Boston Athenaeum, Deutsche Nationalbibliothek, Grolier Club, Harvard, Hungarian Multicultural Center, MIT, MoMA, Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, UCLA Biomedical Library, Stanford, and Yale. Christine Adame (Artists’ Books Panel) Christine Adame is an intermedia artist from Laredo, Texas. Her artwork relates to heritage, especially as informed by her mestiza identity. Her work resembles artifacts built from layered processes—including drawing, fibers, digital fabrication, and printmaking. Christine earned her B.S. in Architectural Studies from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.F.A. in Intermedia Studio from The University of Texas at Arlington. She has exhibited in Texas, the Midwest, and Japan and has led digital fabrication workshops nationally and internationally. Kathy Lovas (Artists’ Books Panel) Kathy Lovas is a multi-disciplinary artist working in photography, artist’s books, sculpture and installation. Her projects reference current and past events using familiar objects or words, and she often draws on personal experiences in her narrative work. Kathy holds a B.S. degree in biology from St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana and an MFA in photography from Texas Woman’s University in Denton. She is a 1995 recipient of a Mid-America Arts Alliance National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in photography, and was a 1991 fellow of the American Photography Institute National Graduate Seminar at New York University. Selected solo exhibitions of her work include Lawndale Art Center, Galveston Art Center, Women and Their Work, Handley-Hicks Gallery in Fort Worth, and Liliana Bloch Gallery in Dallas. She has been a resident artist at Project Row Houses in Houston and the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida. Her work has been included in numerous group exhibitions throughout Texas. Kathy’s work is represented by Liliana Bloch Gallery in Dallas. Dottie Love (Artists’ Book Panel) Dottie Love is a miniature zebu rancher and retired photography and digital arts professor. She taught for 35 years at Hill College in North Central Texas. Dottie started making traditional and nontraditional handmade books in the late 1980’s at then NTSU. She studied at the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester NY. Her work is included in many collections including the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. David Wolske (Artists’ Books Panel) David Wolske (he, him, his) is a typo/graphic designer, artist, and educator. His interdisciplinary practice combines the traditions of letterpress and printmaking with digital tools and design thinking. Wolske’s work is exhibited and collected nationally and internationally. He’s the IS Projects 2021 Exhibiting Artist in Residence; a 2020 LHM Educator Fellow at the Hoffmitz Milken Center for Typography at ArtCenter College of Design; the College Book Art Association 2018 Emerging Educator; 2016 Visiting Artist at Hatch Show Print; and a 2014 Utah Visual Arts Fellow. Wolske is an Associate Professor at UNT’s College of Visual Arts and Design. Since 2004, he’s taught letterpress workshops at colleges, universities, and book art centers around the US. His work is represented by Artspace111 in Fort Worth. Michael Bartels (Zines Panel) Michael Bartels is the founder, volunteer CEO and editor-in-chief of Triangle Nonprofit Publishing. Serving at the pleasure of a volunteer board of directors, he develops charity publishing projects that support other public charities and oversees contributor publishing. Under the byline M.R. Bartels, he’s authored and illustrated some 50 zines and books, most recently “Spectre of Aids: Ending the HIV Epidemic”, a 28 page 4 inch handmade zine with an initial run of 1,500 copies, as well Mermaids and Other Monsters of the Sea, an oversized graphic novel about multi-level marketing and millennial angst, 16 issues of Balloon Town Mysteries, two associated ebooks, the Tijuana Acid Party zine series and graphic novel and others. Since 2021 he has donated 100% of the rights and proceeds from his work to charity in addition to volunteering full time for Triangle Nonprofit Publishing and continues to build and grow a network of independent publishing imprints supported by public charity and nonprofit publishing projects. In 2023 Michael was at the helm of the acquisition of Denton’s own 50-year-old poetry publisher, The Trilobite Press, by Triangle Nonprofit Publishing, relaunching the brand to support Health Services of North Texas. Meredith Cawley (Zines Panel) Meredith Cawley is a multimedia artist residing in Texas and currently holds a position as a lecturer in Foundations at the University of North Texas. Her 10 years as an outreach educator at the Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History inspire, inform, and drive her practice. Her current line of inquiry focuses on how cultural opinions represent, shape, and affect the bear. website: Alex Khraish (Zines Panel) Alex Khraish is a multimedia artist, educator, and environmentalist living and working in North Texas. Alex earned their Bachelors of Fine Arts in both Photography and Art History from Texas Woman’s University, and went on to be a Museum Educator at the Kimbell Art Museum and the Dallas Museum of Art, with additional experience in social work and early childhood education. Their work addresses themes of identity, magic, and the sensorial experience of connecting with nature, while challenging the materiality of the photographic process. In both their personal practice and as an educator, Alex has extensive experience working with a wide array of artistic mediums, with a focus in papermaking, bookmaking, and printmaking. Alex is a Co-Director and Educator with The PETAL Project, as well as Assistant Coordinator of Denton Zine and Art Party. Khraish teaches workshops across the DFW Metroplex at various museums, public libraries, and private studios. Tom Sale (Zines Panel) Tom Sale is a retired art professor and is now busy volunteering for many art organizations around North Texas. He is the executive editor for the 50-year-old Trilobite Press started by his father, retired UNT English professor, Richard Sale and now owned by Triangle Nonprofit Publishing. His chapbook/zine career started at age 11 when he wrote and printed his own poetry collection which he peddled door to door in Denton in the 1970s. Rachel Weaver (Zines Panel) Rachel Weaver (she/they) is a mixed-media artist, writer, community collaborator, and educator. They are the Founder and Coordinator of Denton Zine and Art Party - managing the annual Zine Festival, organizing the Zine Library at the Greater Denton Arts Council, and collaborating on local zine events and workshops. Rachel is also a Board Member, Volunteer, and Producer with KUZU Community Radio, an artist-member with Spiderweb Salon, and a Co-Director and Environmental Educator with The PETAL Project. They create zines on environmental topics, using methods such as collage and Xerox scanning, digital processing, and risograph printing, and have taught zine workshops at studios, museums, and art galleries throughout North Texas. Sponsorship Recognition Thank you to BLICK Art Materials for their generous donation! BLICK Art Materials is one of the largest providers of art supplies within the U.S. with over 90,000 items available online, in their catalog, and at their retail locations. Check them out today at www.dickblick.com. Thank you to Texas Woman’s University Libraries for their generous donation! Symposium organizers are appreciative of TWU Libraries’ support, and for helping to make this symposium a success! Learn more about TWU Libraries.. Thank you to Triangle Nonprofit Publishing and Denton Zine and Art Party for hosting the zine workshops for From Artists’ Books to Zines. Triangle Nonprofit Publishing (TNP) “is a 501c(3) nonprofit art and literary publisher founded in Texas in 2021 which exists to promote art and literature and fund charitable organizations through nonprofit art and literary publishing.” In addition to their charity publications and art and literary publishing, they are also well known for their zine workshops and free public anthology zine series. Stay up-to-date with all the awesome fundraising and events that TNP are coordinating by visiting their website Denton Zine and Art Party (DZAP) is “multi-event, multi-media celebration of all things DIY zines, art, and music in Denton, TX,” DZAP hosts numerous events, gathers, workshops and more each year. They also have a zine library in the Greater Denton Arts Council - Patterson-Appleton Arts Center Library Room that celebrates Denton zine culture, and is available to view during art center’s open hours. Stay up-to-date with all the wonderful events and programming that Denton Zine and Art Party are coordinating by visiting their website. special_collections_in_the_news
Posted:
01/19/2024
