What's New In Special Collections

Special Collections and Archives Receives $100K NEH Grant to Launch Latino Voices Project

Lied Library, exterior
Lied Library, exterior

Special Collections and Archives in the UNLV University Libraries will receive a $100,000 Humanities Access Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities for a project to document the contributions of Latino communities to the development of Southern Nevada.

“Latino Voices in Southern Nevada” is an oral history and community engagement project aimed at expanding the diversity of the voices that Special Collections and Archives preserves. The project will involve students in connecting with the community, and engage multiple generations in reflecting on the lives and experiences of the region’s Hispanic residents.…Read More

Culinary Workers Union Collection Comes Alive Through Tech in Digital Collections Lab by Jasmin Bryant

Photographs of Frontier Victory rally , Culinary Union, Las Vegas (Nev.), 1998 January 31. Culinary Workers Union Local 226 Las Vegas, Nevada Photograph Collection (PH:00382)

In one photograph a diverse group of union workers hold up a banner together that boldly declares, “Whatever it takes. As long as it takes.” In another, Rev. Jesse Jackson holds his fist in the air during a labor union rally on the Strip. And in a series of negatives, the moment is captured when one of the longest labor strikes in American history finally ends, with jubilant workers embracing each…Read More

Chung, Schwartz, White Appointed to The Mob Museum Advisory Council

Three UNLV University Libraries faculty have been appointed to serve on the Advisory Council for The Mob Museum, The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement. Su Kim Chung, Head of Special Collections Public Services, David G. Schwartz, Director of the UNLV Center for Gaming Research, and Claytee White, Director of the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Research Center, were asked to serve on the expanded council in October. 

The council assists The Mob Museum with advancing the public understanding of organized crime’s history and impact on society. The Advisory Council membership roster includes former Senator Harry Reid, former Nevada Governor Bob Miller, and leaders within numerous law enforcement agencies, as well as academic and corporate entities. National members include experts from the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigations, and an array of intelligence specialists, journalists,…Read More

Special Collections & Archives Completes Work on NHPRC Grant “America’s Great Gamble”

"America's Great Gamble" project staff at work on the NHPRC-funded project. 

Special Collections and Archives (SCA) project staff recently completed work on the National Historical Publications & Records Commission (NHPRC) grant-funded project, “America’s Great Gamble: A Project to Promote the Discovery of Sources About the Expansion of Legalized Gambling Across the United States.” The $129,600 grant allowed SCA to hire…Read More

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.
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.

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