Stellar Resources at UTA Libraries: Students Dive into the Cosmos with Access to NASA Documents

The history of human space flight can be explored here at the UTA Central Library through official NASA documents and pictures. Since UTA Libraries became a Federal Depository Library in 1963, NASA has sent documents to the university monthly. 

Troy Black, Federal Depository Library Coordinator, stated that the items in the collection give people an inside look at what was happening at the time through technical data, personal accounts and historical information. 

“We have a lot of materials that tell the history of NASA and the different space flights from the beginning, with Project Mercury that started in the 1950s through the space shuttle missions and beyond,” Troy said. “The section on the third floor that contains the physical documents is not only valuable for engineering students but for people who are space fans. It is just a cool place to look through.” 

The items in the archive include technical documents that provide specific details about how a piece of equipment worked on a spacecraft or satellite. Some documents give historical accounts of NASA and its missions, along with photographs taken at the time. Each item tells one piece of the larger story about NASA and its people. 

“The big thing in this archive is the NASA technical reports. They would be useful for engineering and aerospace engineering students because they can use them to compare the old technology to today’s technology,” Troy said. “While many of these sources are online or have been digitized, not all have. To have the originals on hand to look at and hold is cool.” 

Troy stated that when the library became an all-digital depository in 2015, the physical copies of documents sent from several government organizations to the library were evaluated for future use and preservation. The NASA documents were kept because of their historical value. 

“We are still receiving new documents from NASA every month, but instead of physical documents, we receive digital ones that are loaded directly into our catalog,” he said. “These documents can be accessed through the library catalog on the UTA Libraries website using filters for government documents.” 

If people are interested in viewing the NASA documents, they are on the third floor of the UTA Central Library. Once on the third floor, exit the elevator to the right. The shelves that contain government documents and NASA materials are marked with the Federal Depository Library logo that features an eagle and a book. If you need help locating the documents please ask at any library service desk.  

Whether you’re a researcher or space enthusiast, come up to the third floor of the Central Library to explore an out of this world primary resource directly from NASA.