New from the School of Medicine Library

Remembering 1 October: A Collaborative Initiative to Document the Tragedy and Response

On October 1, 2017 a horrifying tragedy struck Las Vegas. A gunman opened fire into a crowd of 22,000 attending Route 91 Harvest Festival. Fifty-eight victims were killed and almost 500 people were injured in one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history.

It is important that we do not forget. We must remember and honor the fallen and injured, the heroes and heroines, the first responders, the strength and resiliency of our community’s response, and the outpouring of national support. To preserve these stories, University Libraries Special Collections and Archives,…Read More

Harrah’s Entertainment Corporate Archives Ready for Researchers! by Hannah Robinson

1962 advertisement by Hoefer, Dieterich, & Brown, Inc. designed to entice people in the San Francisco Bay Area to spend the weekend at Harrah’s Tahoe spending money on games, drinks, and food.

The Harrah’s brand began in 1946 with Bill Harrah when he opened a bingo parlor in Reno, Nevada. Ever since the opening of Harrah’s Reno Club, the brand has contributed to and often led trends in casino and gaming marketing and corporate strategies. For…Read More

Harrah’s: First in Casino Industry to Combat Problem Gambling, by Hana Gutierrez

Early hand-drawn illustrations from Harrah’s underage gaming prevention program from Harrah's Entertainment Corporate Archives. MS-00460. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Early hand-drawn illustrations from Harrah’s underage gaming prevention program. Harrah’s Entertainment Corporate Archives, 1811-2004. MS-00460. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The Harrah’s Entertainment Corporate Archives (MS-00460) contains the promotional and corporate files of Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. and its predecessors, as well as Bill Harrah’s personal papers and card game collection. The archives is accessible at UNLV Libraries, and documents the development of the Harrah’s hotel and…Read More

Royer Collection on Gaming ~ Ready for Researchers! by Hannah Robinson

As the gaming industry expanded dramatically in the 1970s and 1980s, Gary Royer provided his casino managing, auditing, and accounting expertise to hundreds of corporations, casinos, and regulatory agencies in the United States. As a consultant and auditing agent, Royer created extensive research files that researchers can now peruse to gain insight about the expansion of gaming in the US in the last fifty years. Researchers interested in the development of gaming policy, changes in casino management and operational control procedures, and the corporatization of the US gaming industry will find a wealth of information in the Gary W. Royer Collection on Gaming. The Royer Collection is housed in the UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives and a detailed inventory of the collection is available online.

Staff Highlight: Our Award-Winning Staff

Two staff members from Special Collections were recognized for their achievements recently. Please join us in congratulating our wonderful colleagues!

Emily Lapworth, Digital Special Collections Librarian, was awarded the UNLV University Libraries Innovative Solutions Award for her efforts to implement large-scale digitization practices in the Culinary Workers Union, Local 226 Project. She was nominated by her supervisor, Cory Lampert, Head of Digital Collections.

Linked Data Research in Digital Collections

Cory Lampert and Silvia Southwick pose with a linked open data map.

Learn more about the concept of linked open data, the cutting edge research conducted by Cory Lampert and Silvia Southwick, and how they are working toward applying their research into more effective ways that users can search our collections.

The article also links to their work on the University Libraries’ Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project pilot project, “Navigator,” an online browsing tool that uses the metadata embedded in the files to create visualized links between collections.

Archivist Lindsay Oden with Eugene Martin Christiansen Papers

Project archivist Lindsay Oden stands in front of the Eugene Martin Christiansen Papers, which are now housed in 255 boxes occupying almost 140 feet of shelf space.

Gaming policy in the United States has shifted dramatically in the last fifty years, and UNLV Libraries Special Collections’ NHPRC grant-funded project team for “America’s Great Gamble” has finished processing another collection that researchers can use to explore the ways gaming has changed in the US and abroad over that time. The Eugene Martin Christiansen Papers…Read More

Christiansen Reports on Gaming Facilities Contain Deep Insights on Economic Activity, by Lindsay Oden

A selection of reports from the Eugene Martin Christiansen Papers, 1948-2015. MS-00561. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Deciding whether or not to build a multi-million dollar casino is fraught with complications: what are the local and state laws? What is the per capita income of the surrounding areas? How much competition will the casino face for entertainment dollars? Feasibility studies can help answer these kinds of questions, and Eugene Martin Christiansen, who has worked as a gaming consultant in the gaming industry since the late 1970s, has written, commissioned, and collected more than 550 different kinds of studies that look at gaming in the United States. I’m currently processing and describing the Eugene Martin…Read More

Collection highlight: Martin Stern Jr.'s architectural vision for Autoworld, by Jimmy Chang and Tyler Stanger

Aerial perspective illustrating Stern's conceptual layout for Harrah's Autoworld complex. Martin Stern Architectural Records, 1953-1990. MS-00382. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

UNLV Libraries is home to the Martin Stern Architectural Records. UNLV School of Architecture students Jimmy Chang and Tyler Stanger explore an unbuilt project of architect Martin Stern Jr., whose projects, from the International Hotel to the first MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, have paved the way for both intellectual thought and physical land in Las Vegas.

Classic Corvette convertibles shimmer under spotlights, and curvy Chrysler coupes tempt with taillights. Among a nostalgic background of sights and sounds, a…Read More

Girl Scout Records in UNLV Libraries, by Angela Moor

Girl Scouts at Camp Foxtail, Nevada, 1994. Frontier Girl Scouts Records, 1944-1999. MS-00421. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

March is Women's History Month—a perfect time to recognize Girl Scouts, an organization for young women dedicated to making the world a better place. National Girl Scout Day is also in March— it's celebrated March 12 to commemorate the first Girl Scout Troop meeting, which was held in Georgia on that day in 1912. Troops selling cookies aren’t the only presence of Girl Scouts on campus—UNLV Libraries Special Collections holds over 40 feet of Frontier Girl Scouts Records, documenting the history of girl scouting in…Read More