About

Special Collections at the University of North Texas offers a range of services for University of North Texas faculty and other educators in the community who are interested in teaching with rare books and archival materials. Our staff can assist with identifying appropriate material and developing class assignments or you may browse our finding aids or library catalog prior to contacting us. A list of our archival and rare/unique collection strengths are available on our website.

Special Collections offers a variety of instruction sessions, ranging from a brief tour and general introduction to Special Collections’ resources to an in-depth presentation on specific materials relevant to your course. Here are some examples of our instruction services:

Tour (15-20 minutes)

Take a special tour of the Special Collections department or add the department tour to your library visit. On this tour students and community groups will become acquainted with the reading room and will get a broad overview of Special Collections and services. Visitors will also have an opportunity to view our exhibit and talk with archivists and librarians.

Introduction to Special Collections

In this instruction session students will learn the basics of conducting archival research. Topics covered include what to expect when visiting an archive, using finding aids, navigating the UNT Digital Library and The Portal to Texas History, and citing archival sources. For a small class it may be possible for archivists to work one-on-one with students on their research topics.

Primary Source Instruction

This instruction session will help students understand the difference between primary and secondary sources. Students will have the opportunity to interact “hands on” with primary sources from our collections and discuss how to incorporate primary sources into their research. A focus on digitized resources can be added in addition to or in place of a focus on physical objects.

Authors, Books, and Book Art

Your class can explore the holdings of the Special Collections department with an emphasis on a particular time period, an author, a book style or the use of the book form in artistic expression. Our strong collections of first editions, miniature and artists’ books make this a memorable experience for students.

Photography Study Collection/History of Photography

Your class will meet in the library to view the Photography Study Collection, a set of original artists’ prints and portfolios selected to demonstrate a range of photographic printing processes and techniques. Separately, or in addition to the Study Collection, you may request examples of historical photography including cased photography, carte de visite, albumen prints and cyanotype prints. Vintage cameras, photography related artifacts and camera manuals are also available.

Requests

Please submit your request at least two weeks in advance of your planned visit. We prefer that instructors are present during class sessions.

Questions

If you have questions or need special arrangements please contact Special Collections. We look forward to working with you!

Schedule a Visit