What's New In Special Collections

Understanding the Nature of the Nuclear West at Yucca Mountain by Billy Marino

Atmospheric nuclear bomb test at the NTS in the 1950s.

Image Credit: Film Transparency showing an atomic explosion at the Nevada Test Site, circa 1950s,” L.F. Manis Photographs, 1900-1969, PH-00100. Special Collections & Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.

Billy Marino received his BA and MA from UNLV’s Department of History where he studied environmental history and the American West before working as an archival processing assistant at UNLV Libraries Special Collections & Archives. His thesis focused on the ways environmental perceptions of the West shaped decisions regarding the space race during the 1960s, including extensive research the role of the Nevada Test Site (today called the Nevada…Read More

The Golden Age of Auto Travel by Lauren Paljusaj

US 50 travel placemat with drawing of scenery and destinations along highway with text description below

The Travel Mat for US 95 shows tourist attractions from Lovelock, Nevada to Blythe, California, featuring the Nevada Test Site and Boulder Dam, approximately 1940-1970, UNLV University Libraries Menu Collection, MS-00436

In today’s age of Google maps, Yelp, and the multitude of smartphone apps available for travel and leisure, taking a road trip is somewhat different from the post-World War II era, when long-distance car travel was a momentous occasion. The post-war economic boom of the 1940s and 1950s meant more people could afford cars, and this, along with more employers offering paid vacation time, meant that road trips were a popular family…Read More

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