Special Collections

Special Collections at UTA Libraries was founded in 1974 as the Special Collections Division, the direct result of a gift by Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins Garrett of Fort Worth, Texas.

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Stories

Rachael Clark 1

January 8 2024

Staff Spotlight: Rachel Clark

Making history accessible is how Rachel Clark describes her job at UTA Libraries. Rachel joined the Special Collections Department staff in November as one of its newest metadata librarians.

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A table with a globe, with bookcases in the background, with the banner SPCO Quarterly Review and The Compass Rose logo in blue and orange

December 21 2023

Special Collections in 2023: 4th Quarterly Review

A look back at highlights from the last quarter of activity in Special Collections

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Ben 1

December 5 2023

A Career of Service

Each item in the UTA Libraries Special Collections Archive has a unique story to tell, and Ben Huseman has been mapping out those stories for the public for the past 17 years. At the end of December, he is calling it a career.

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Black and white photo of three wrestlers in a wrestling ring surrounded by fans.

December 4 2023

Cirrus Bonneau: Capturing Interplay of the Everyday

A profile on Fort Worth photographer Cirrus Bonneau and his work in documenting the city.

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Collections

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United Livestock Handlers preparing for a packinghouse strike in 1946

Texas Labor Archives

The Texas Labor Archives contain material from hundreds of union locals and labor councils, statewide labor organizations, union political groups, district and regional offices of international unions, and legal firms specializing in labor law, as well as the personal papers of union officials.   

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Collage of portraits from Tejano Voices website

Texas Political History Collection

These collections concentrate on political officials from North and Central Texas. They include papers of Texas office holders, a series of interviews by Dr. Allan Saxe with prominent Arlington politicians, and interviews conducted by Dr. José Gutiérrez focusing on Mexican-American leaders in Texas.

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upclose image of Map of Mexico in Special Collections

Virginia Garrett Cartographic History Library

The Garrett Library includes thousands of maps and atlases, 1493 to present, specializing in maps relating to Texas, Mexico, the Gulf Coast, the Caribbean, and Africa.

Read more about Virginia Garrett…