What's New in Special Collections

Collection Highlight: Native American Comics from the Katherine A. Spilde Papers, by Hana Gutierrez

A young boy posed in a wide stance gazes into the distance. His arms hold a cape outstretched at his sides. The young boy’s name is Georgie and he is an Ojibwe of the Mille Lacs Band in Minnesota. Georgie is one of the many characters depicted in comic books produced by the Mille Lacs Band to educate their children, and also the non-Native American public, on Ojibwe culture. In the comic A Hero’s Voice, Georgie’s grandfather teaches him the importance of recognizing the real heroes in his life, his ancestors, not imagined comic book heroes. Georgie’s grandfather guides him through hundreds of years of Ojibwe history, highlighting how his ancestors fought to protect their rights and land from Anglo interlopers. At the end of the story Georgie is told that he too can be a hero, by protecting the culture of his people, making sure their stories are not erased and that their sovereignty is protected.

Six Secrets from Special Collections with Cory Lampert

Cory Lampert, Head, Digital Collections, Special Collections Division

In our Secrets from Special Collections series, UNLV Libraries Special Collections staff members divulge what they consider to be the hidden gems of the library, sharing answers, based on their own experiences, to six intriguing questions. Here, Cory Lampert, Head of Digital Collections gives us a glimpse into life working among the rare treasures of the library.

When you first began working in Special Collections, what was the one item or collection that made your jaw drop, and why? Describe.

America’s Great Gamble: NHPRC Grant Project Work Underway, by Hannah Robinson

Down on the first-floor processing area of UNLV’s Lied Library, our local National Historical Publications and Records Commission grant project team is busy at work organizing, rehousing, and describing three of the largest gaming collections in Special Collections. The project team includes two graduates of UNLV’s History Department masters’ program, Lindsay Oden and Hannah Robinson, who are employed as full-time project archivists, as well as a graduate student assistant from the History Department, Lee Hanover, and an undergraduate student assistant, Hana Gutierrez.

Understanding Architecture Through Special Collections, by Jimmy Chang and Tyler Stanger

As sixth year students in UNLV's School of Architecture, we are preparing research theses for our final year of studies in the Master's program. We are interested in urban history, Jimmy in how urban areas and architecture are portrayed in popular media and Tyler in the architectural development of Las Vegas. In order to better understand the architectural history of Las Vegas, we are working this summer as interns for UNLV University Libraries Special Collections processing the Gary Guy Wilson and Martin Stern architectural records. It has been a lot of fun to learn from the work of these two influential architects as we discover, organize, rehouse, and describe their collected drawings.

Students from UNLV School of Architecture, Tyler Stanger and Jimmy Chang, identifying, analyzing, comparing, and processing drawings of the Riviera Hotel from the Martin Stern Architectural Records, MS-00382.

Six Secrets from Special Collections with Aaron Mayes

Aaron Mayes, Visual Materials Curator, Special Collections Division

In our Secrets from Special Collections series, UNLV Libraries Special Collections staff members reveal a few lesser-known aspects about the archives and offer up personal insight into research and discovery, sharing answers, based on their own experiences, to six intriguing questions.Here, Aaron Mayes, curator for visual materials, gives us a glimpse into life working among the rare treasures of the library.

1. When you first began working in Special Collections, what was the one item or collection that made your jaw drop, and why? Describe.

Eadington Gaming Fellow Paul Franke: In Residence July 19 – August 16

Paul Franke is a doctoral candidate in history at the International Max Planck Research School for Moral Economies of Modern Societies and the Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany. His research interests are the history of gaming, urban history, the history of entertainment and pop-culture in both the USA and Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Franke’s current project is his dissertation “The Production of Monaco (1860-1960) and Las Vegas (1945-1976) as Sites of (Un)Moral Economies.” The project will shed light on the production process of the unique gaming experience in both places, via the historical analysis of spatial arrangements, business models, advertisements, the involved workforce, and gaming practices in a comparative perspective.

Making a Splash in Special Collections - A Photo Essay by Nancy Hardy

Five young bathers at the swimming hole at Ladd’s Resort Las Vegas, ca. 1920s (E. W. Cragin Photo Collection, PH: 0017-0022)

In summertime, UNLV Libraries Special Collections’ reading room offers a cool retreat from the heat. It’s a quiet place to study, to do research, or simply to spend time learning about Las Vegas’ historic past. During this hottest time of the year, we thought we’d share images from our photo collections that show how early residents and visitors managed to cope with sizzling temperatures at various Las Vegas resorts over the years.

Application Process for 2016-17 Eadington Fellows Now Open

Image featuring a gaming house during the Renaissance after a miniature on vellum. From the Musée rétrospectif de la classe 100 : Jeux à l'exposition universelle internationale de 1900, à Paris. Rapport présenté by Henry d'Allemagne (Taxe Collection, UNLV Libraries Special Collections).

The Center for Gaming Research in Special Collections at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas invites interested scholars to apply for the 2016-17 cycle of William R. Eadington fellowships, which facilitate research into many aspects of both gambling and Las Vegas at UNLV Special Collections in the University Libraries.

In the 2016-17 academic year, the Center will award two types of Eadington fellowships:

Shakespeare's First Folio On Exhibit in Special Collections - September 1-29

Shakespeare's First Folio (image courtesy of the Folger Shakespeare Library)

In little over a month and a half, one of the Shakespeare First Folios will go on display in the UNLV Libraries Special Collections reading room as part of the national tour of First Folio: The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare from the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D.C. Accompanying it will be a number of interesting panels that will put the Folio into historical context, and provide information on the Bard himself, as well as the many theatrical productions of his works that have taken place over the years.

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