UTA Libraries is proud to announce the launch of the newly updated and expanded digital exhibit, Covers, Titles and Tables: The Formations of American Literary Canons and Concepts of America in Anthologies, Histories and Scholarship. 
  

This long-term collaborative project with Professor Emeritus Dr. Kenneth Roemer offers scholars, educators, and the public a rare and comprehensive lens into how American literature has been curated and defined over the past two centuries.  
 

Initially developed in the late 1990s, Covers, Titles and Tables (CTT) curates and organizes the tables of contents from literary anthologies and histories dating back to 1829. These documents reflect shifting perspectives on which authors, genres, and narratives have been deemed central to the American experience and by whom.  

"This project started as a way to better understand the literary canon wars of the 1980s and 90s," Dr. Roemer said. "But now, it's even more relevant. With current debates around what books belong in classrooms and libraries, this exhibit provides historical context that helps us understand how those conversations have evolved and where they might go next."  

 
Scholars across the country have recognized the impact and value of the project.  

  
 "The result of love for American Literature and much hard bibliographic work, the CTT is a monumental and truly valuable digital archive,” Werner Sollors, Henry B. and Anne M. Cabot Professor of English and Professor of African and African American Studies at Harvard University said. “It is of interest to anyone interested in the many published anthologies and histories, past and present, as well as in the culture wars that challenged what American literature should and should not include."  

Sollors is also the co-editor of A New Literary History of America, which is included in the CTT exhibit. 
 

The newly relaunched exhibit is hosted on MavMatrix, the open-access institutional repository and archival hub of UTA Libraries. MavMatrix preserves and showcases the university's legacy and research/creative record in a robust and reliable digital environment. It houses various historic and recent resources available openly and freely to local, national and global audiences.  

"In MavMatrix, the project becomes not just a website, but a research tool," Jessica McClean, Director of Open Educational Resources and Digital Scholarship, said. "We can organize materials in intuitive ways, track usage and provide full text searchability. It puts this decades-long project into the hands of a global audience."  
 

That global reach is already evident. Since its move to MavMatrix in 2024, the project has received more than 18,000 downloads from users worldwide. Visitors can trace the global downloads recorded in real time on a map. The Libraries expects downloads to increase significantly after the formal announcement of the redesigned website.  
 

Other scholars are already planning to integrate the exhibit into future work.  

“I plan on extending my anthology project,” Kenton Rambsy, Associate Professor at Howard University and the Co-Investigator of a $1.6 million digital humanities research grant, said. “Of course, I’m going to rely on your database as a source. . .. Trust me . . .. It will be put to great use.”  

Visitors to the exhibit will find documents grouped into thematic categories: Introduction, 19th, 20th and 21st-century anthologies, literary histories, American Literary Scholarship volumes, essays and two bibliographies. This structure highlights changes in the literary canon over time and supports deeper exploration and discovery.  

Roemer emphasized the significance of those editorial choices. 

"Each anthology makes a decision about when and how America begins," Roemer said. "That choice, whether it's the Puritans, Benjamin Franklin or Native American narratives, tells us a lot about how editors and scholars define American identity."  

Roemer noted that the exhibit's timing is also key, with the United States approaching its 250th anniversary in 2026. The project invites timely reflection on what stories, values, and voices are being passed from generation to generation.  

"CTT is not just a resource, it's a cultural archive," McClean said. "It's an example of how libraries can support research excellence by helping scholars preserve and amplify their work on a global scale." 

The exhibit is now live and accessible to all at library.uta.edu/ctt and https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/exhibit/ctt. It is supported and preserved through MavMatrix, ensuring its impact will continue for generations.