Conducting Historical Research

A Cautionary Note:  It is best not to assume that everything in a special collection is catalogued and in the card or on-line catalog.  Special collections are, by definition, materials outside of the norm and therefore can be difficult to catalog.  If you are looking for something at one of the archives or other special collections listed below and cannot find it, talk to the person in charge.  They will be your best resource about the contents of their collections.

The University Archives is located on the 4th Floor of Willis Library and contains not only the records of the University, but also collections of the papers of various persons in the north Texas region, county records for Cooke, Montague, Denton, and Wise counties, and 1600 oral history transcripts on a variety of historical topics.

Also located on the 4th Floor of Willis Library is the Rare Books/Texana Collection, which houses rare books and archival materials, including: periodicals, diaries, letters, photographs, scrapbooks, posters, maps, original artworks, prints, artifacts, legal documents, manuscript materials, microforms, digital media, etc.  

Since the Government Documents Department (link will say Government Information Connection) was created in Willis Library in 1971, their purpose has been to provide free public access to records generated by the federal and state governments.  The Documents Collection, located on the 3rd Floor of Willis, includes over 1 million items, in a variety of formats: print, microform, audiovisual, maps, posters, musical scores, LPs, CD-ROMs, and “virtual” Web documents.  Primary sources in the collection include materials published by the government back into the 19th century, including the U.S. Census. 

The Microforms Department, which is located on the Lower Level of Willis Library, contains a large collection of material on microfilm --  well over two million items.  Major research collections include: U.S. and Texas Population Censuses, UNT Dissertation and Theses, the Sabin Collection of Early American Imprints, and the American Periodical Series.  The types of materials that can be be found on microfilm are: newspapers, dissertations, periodicals, monographs, personal papers, business records, government records, photographs, and maps.

The TWU Archives houses decades of history chronicling TWU's unique standing among Texas colleges and universities. Established in 1901 by the Texas Legislature as the Girls Industrial College, TWU held its first classes in 1903. In 1905, the name was changed to College of Industrial Arts (CIA), in 1934 to Texas State College for Women (TSCW), and in 1957 to Texas Woman's University.

In addition to housing records generated by the University, the TWU Archives also has other collection materials about the history of women.  Whether capturing the experiences of American women in wartime or chronicling their struggle for civil rights and equality, the Woman's Collection documents milestones in the history of American women through letters, diaries, photographs, manuscripts and books.  Established in 1932, the collection represents the best concentration of resources on U.S. women in the Southwest. Rare and current materials are available for research.

The collection of materials at the Texas/Dallas History & Archives Division is one of the largest of its kind in the nation. Their holdings span many aspects of the diverse history of not only Dallas and the surrounding area, but the entire state of Texas.  The Texas/Dallas History & Archives Division collects, preserves, and makes available to patrons information in text, graphic, audio, and video formats.

Special Collections specializes in historical materials relating to Texas, the U.S. War with Mexico (1846-1848), the cartographic history of Texas and the Gulf of Mexico, and Mexico from 1810-1920. The collections include more than 30,000 volumes, 7,000 linear feet of manuscript and archival collections, 5,000 historical maps, 3,600,000 photographic prints and negatives, and thousands of items in other formats.

The DeGolyer Library is the principal repository at SMU for special collections in the humanities, the history of business, and the history of science and technology. Its rare books, manuscripts, photographs, maps, and other materials are available to all SMU students, faculty, visiting scholars, and other researchers. DeGolyer Library’s holdings of primary sources are supported by exhibitions, lectures, publications, and seminars. Dedicated to enhancing scholarship and teaching at SMU, the DeGolyer Library is charged with maintaining and building its various collections "for study, research, and pleasure."

Special Collections consists of two general components: archives and rare books. The archives contains both records of the university and historic manuscript collections. Past issues of the Horned Frog yearbooks and The TCU Daily Skiff along with photographs of campus and university activities and numerous TCU publications document the history of the university. The collections of former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Jim Wright, prominent Fort Worth businessman Amon G. Carter, and the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition highlight the manuscripts portion of the archives.

The Pate-Newcomer Collection contains well over 1,200 items covering all aspects of the people, life, and culture of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Other collections of interest include the Mayfield Collection of books and pamphlets on Western outlaws and gunmen and the George T. Abell Collection of antique maps. There is also an important collection of the works of Anthony Trollope. 

The Special Collections department is located in the historic Emily Fowler Central Library. Included in these collections are over 10,000 books, family histories, microforms, scrapbooks, yearbooks, city directories, photographs, maps, and oral histories that focus on local & state history and genealogy.

The Genealogy, History & Archives Unit of the Fort Worth Public Library is located in the lower level of the Central Library. It has a large collection of family history data including federal census, books, periodicals, CD-ROMs, and online databases. The collection focuses on Texas and the South, but also includes a considerable amount of information on the Midwest and the original thirteen states. The unit also collects primary and secondary materials on the history of Fort Worth, its institutions, organizations, and peoples. Moreover, it is the official archives for the City of Fort Worth municipal government.

As a center for historical and genealogical research, NARA-Fort Worth has both an Archival and Microfilm Research Room for researchers. Their historical records date from the 1800s to the late 1900s, and include letters, photographs, maps, architectural drawings, and other documents received from over 100 Federal agencies and courts in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas.