Distance was once a barrier to getting the latest news or connecting with friends or family. Now, communications systems bring people together in an instant instead of days or weeks. This evolution in technology is being explored through the new Special Collections mini exhibit, Hear Ye, Hear Ye, which shows how communication has evolved over time. 

“The thing that inspired this mini exhibit is our bill inserts that were put in the Southwestern Bell telephone bills that we have in our collection,” said Rachel Clark, Metadata Librarian. “These little folded-up pieces of paper would feature silly jokes or true stories from their customers about their experience with the telephone service. When I found them, I knew we needed to share them to help tell this story of communication history.” 

What started with something as small as an item tucked into a phone bill has become a rich exploration of how people have always found ways to connect. The exhibit pulls together artifacts and photographs that show the creativity, innovation, and sometimes even the humor behind how we’ve stayed in touch across time and distance. 

Among the highlights: 

• The Rotary Telephone: A reminder of when every call required patience and precision. 
• Telephone Operators: Photos from Southwestern Bell show the people who manually connected conversations across towns and cities before automated systems took over. 
• Weather Radar, 2000 Fort Worth Tornado: A striking image from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram Collection captures meteorologists tracking the devastating storm. Communication wasn’t just about connecting with people but about keeping them safe. 
• 1969 Computer Advising Experiment: A photograph documents an early test of whether computers could guide high school students on college and career choices.  

“That really struck me,” Clark said. “It’s kind of like AI today. We think it’s brand new, but people were already experimenting with the same ideas decades ago.” 

• CWA Equipment Workers: Photos of Communication Workers of America union members installing private branch exchanges (PBX) highlight the behind-the-scenes labor that made office communication possible long before Zoom calls and instant messaging. 
• Southwestern Bell Bill Inserts: These quirky, customer-focused pieces offered entertainment and advice, like what to do if you received harassing calls.  
   

“It kind of tells you that before we had smartphones, we were already dealing with the equivalent of spam calls,” Clark said. 
 

The exhibit also stretches further back in time, showing how marketing and messaging echo across centuries. A U.S.-Mexico War recruitment poster from 1847 demonstrates how strategies to persuade and connect people have remained surprisingly familiar. 

For Clark, the most powerful part of the exhibit is the reminder that while technology has advanced, the heart of communication hasn’t changed.  

“The more I investigated, the more I saw how far we’ve come with technology, yet we haven’t. Spam calls existed then. AI existed then in its own way. Even recruitment posters back in the 1800s look like marketing today. These stories show that we’re not so different from the people who came before us.” 

Hear Ye, Hear Ye is more than just a look back at rotary phones or historic posters; it’s a reminder of how communication, in all its forms, connects us. From party lines to smartphones, from handwritten notices to instant messages, the desire to share, warn, laugh, and stay connected is timeless. 

The mini exhibit will be on display in Special Collections through Sept. 30.