Special Collections documents the history of gaming, Las Vegas, southern Nevada, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in a wide variety of formats. The research guides linked below provide a detailed overview of significant collecting areas in Special Collections and Archives.
Researchers wanting to discover books, journals, historical manuscripts, photographs, and oral histories focused on these specific topical areas can explore the guides which provide links to collection finding aids and digitized materials when available online. Although these guides are not comprehensive, they provide a useful starting point for researchers.
Our book collection predominantly focuses on Las Vegas and gambling. Most comprehensive are holdings relating to the history, culture, and environment of Las Vegas, including popular works, specialized studies, government publications, and fiction set in Las Vegas. The collection also includes titles relating to the history of Nevada, the American Southwest, and the American West.
Learn more about our other specialized book collections.
In addition to books and manuscripts, Special Collections and Archives features material in a variety of formats.
Learn more about our collection formats.
Since its founding in 2003, the Oral History Research Center (OHRC) has collected oral histories as part of focused projects designed to produce a series of interrelated histories.
Explore the list of our oral history projects linked to their individual oral history transcripts.