Address:  15th & Detroit, Box 41041, Lubbock, Texas 79409-1041         Phone: (806) 742-3749

Calendar of Events

Current and Upcoming Events | Current Exhibits | Upcoming Exhibits | Recent Events

Our gallery and beautiful reading room are open year round.
Summer hours are Monday thru Friday 9 am to 5 pm.
Fall and Spring school semester hours are: Mon., Wed., Fri., 9 am to 5 pm
Tues., Thur., 9 am to 7 pm
Sat., 9 am to 1 pm
Holiday hours can change, please call ahead to the reference desk
if you have any questions.
806.742.3749

Current and Upcoming Events:              

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Current Exhibits:

The Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library exhibits program offers many treats to patrons under the three turrets of our facility on the Texas Tech University campus. More information on our exhibits can be found here. Current shows include:

 

On Display thru 5/6/2008                   On Display thru 4/25/2008       On Display thru  7/2008	"The Battle of Ojinaga" From April 14 to May 6, 2008, the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University will host a special showing featuring 40 linear feet of text, maps and photographs of “The Battle of Ojinaga.”  The exhibit, curated by John Eusebio Klingemann for the Museum of the Big Bend at Sul Ross State University, returns to West Texas after a worldwide tour. Stops included the National Museum of Australia.  The famous 1914 battle pitted the División del Norte, under the leadership of General Francisco “Pancho” Villa, against Mexican federal forces led by Generals Salvador Mercado and Pascual Orozco. Villa’s troops routed the federales overnight, forcing them and their families to retreat across the Rio Grande to Presidio. At Presidio, the U.S. Army under the command of Major John McNamee took the refugees into custody and transferred them to Marfa, Texas, where they were interned behind barbed wire. The exhibit is sponsored by the Museum of the Big Bend and by the Texas Tech Office of Institutional Diversity, Cross Cultural Academic Achievement Center and the Heritage Consortium for the Natural and Historic Southwest. Photographs from the Rephotographic Survey Project—Formby Room "The Rephotographic Survey Project," an exhibition of 56 silver gelatin prints, consisting of copy prints of landscapes and scenes from the American West photographed for the U.S. Topographical and Geological surveys in the 1860s and 1870s by William Henry Jackson, Timothy O'Sullivan, Andrew J. Russell and John K. Hillers, paired alongside carefully repeated photographs of the same scenes made a century later in the 1970s by Mark Klett, JoAnn Verburg, Gordon Bushaw, and Rick Dingus. The resulting comparisons reveal not only the natural effects of time and human presence in the landscape, but also how the choices of each photographer affected the interpretation of the land. DASPO: Vietnam Photographers – From the Spring of 1962 until the collapse in 1973, the Department of the Army Special Photographic Office rotated or TDY’d photographers into combat and other units on special assignment.  This exhibit offers original equipment, photos from Thailand, Vietnam and US refugee camps, plus a special tribute to Kermit Yoho, DASPO photographer killed in action by US artillery “friendly fire.”
On Display thru      7/2008	Tarahumara Indians – These indigenous people of the Sierra Madre in southwest Chihuahua, Mexico, have refused to assimilate and kept their culture largely intact across the centuries.  Since 1952 the Jesuit priest Luis Verplancken, while administering to their health needs, has made over 25,000 photographs there, now being scanned by SWC/SC Library staff.  The exhibit includes photographs along with baskets, weaving, pottery and carvings collected by oral historian David Marshall.
On Display thru 5/2008	Ceramics by James Watkins – Tech Horn Professor and Fulbright Scholar James Watkins' work is widely published and shown internationally, including in two museums of the Smithsonian Institution.  Inspired by “layers of memory” and sources as diverse as the Song dynasty of China, the Pecos Wilderness, and the music of John Coltrane, these ceramics delight with form, texture and color.
On Display thru 5/2008	Volunteer!  A Lifetime of Katie Parks – A special exhibit for Black History Month, this show celebrates the lifelong spirit of volunteerism in the poet, playwright and author of Remember When? A History of African Americans in Lubbock, Texas.  From counseling cancer patients, mentoring the young, spearheading church drives, delivering meals to shut-ins and serving on the city’s Arts Commission  and Centennial Committee, no one is busier or of greater service to the community.
On Display thru      7/2008	Development of the West Texas Historical Association – From its humble beginnings with 25 members in 1924, the Association has grown in stature and respect.  Papers presented at annual meetings have become the first stepping stones for many careers as professional historians.  Today, with over 400 members, the WTHA’s headquarters and Yearbook editorial offices are housed under the turrets of the SWC/SC Library.

Crossroads Music Archives series in the Coronelli Rotunda:

Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library-associated shows at other venues:

3/2008 thru 9/2008             College Baseball Hall of Fame at Lubbock International
                                            airport     

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Upcoming Exhibits at the Southwest Collection:

5-7/08              College Baseball Hall of Fame—East Rotunda

8/08-4/09         Medieval Southwest: Manifestations of the Old World in the New

4/28/08-6/08   Final Exposure: portraits from death row - photographs by Lou Jones
                        http://fotojones.com/editorial/deathrow/file.html

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Recent Events:
 

Millennial Collection Reception

December 3, 2007, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. - An end-of-semester reception honoring the Millennial Collection, a thoughtful and thought provoking assembly of photographs and prose was held in the Formby Room of the Southwest Collection.  At 1:00 p.m., Rick Dingus of TTU's School of Art gave a talk on the impetus behind the project and the importance of documenting our "here and now," as it changes more quickly than we realize.  Historic and documentary photographs from other collections, as well as student poetry based on Millennial Collection photographs were on display.

For further information, contact Diane Warner, 742-3749, or diane.warner@ttu.edu.

For further information on the Millennial Collection:  http://www.depts.ttu.edu/art/mc/lk01.html http://www.swco.ttu.edu/millennial_collection.html

For an article on the Millennial Collection and Rick Dingus from the Office of Communications and Marketing:  http://www.depts.ttu.edu/communications/vistas/archive/04-winter/stories/photog.php

November 12-15, 2007 - the Southwest Collection hosted several events to celebrate the 3rd Annual American Indian Event Week.  These included presentations by Dr. Kim Winkelman, President of Comanche Nation College, Dr. Ethan Schmidt, Dr. Edward Anderson, Dr. James Goss, Dr. Juanita Pahdopony, Harry Mithlo, Andy Wilkinson, and Dr. Kurt Caswell, as well as a cultural arts exhibition by Dr. Bill Skillman and a Comanche Nation College Student Meet ‘n Greet.
     The events were done in partnership with various other Texas Tech entities such as the Cross-Cultural Academic Advancement Center, the Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work, the Office of Institutional Diversity, the Office of Student Diversity Relations, the Office of the Provost, the Pathway Partnership Office, the TTU Howard Hughes Medical Institute Program, and the TTUHSC Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs.

October 31, 2007 - Guest speaker Susan Wittig Albert presented a talk entitled, "Prime Thyme Crime: A Texas Author Talks About Herbs and Mysteries." Albert, a Texas mystery writer and herbal expert, is author of the China Bayles and the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter mystery series. With her husband Bill Albert as "Robin Paige," she also writes the Sir Charles Sheridan mysteries. A book signing and reception was held following her talk.

October 26, 2007 - An opening reception for the Max Crawford Papers and Edward Hoagland Papers was held. The campus community was invited to view the two new manuscript collections, have tea/coffee and cookies, and share ideas for research, class projects, or just browse new and interesting items
     The Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library was pleased to announce two writers in the Sowell Collection whose papers have been processed and are now available for research. 
     The Max Crawford Collection contains a wide range of materials documenting Crawford’s life, from his early days in Crosbyton to years in France.  Literary records include correspondence from writers Wallace Stegner, Larry McMurtry, David Quammen, and many others.  Several boxes include complete early manuscripts of both published and unpublished poems, short stories, and novels.  The collection gives students an insight both into Crawford’s personal life, through pictures and correspondence to and from family and friends, as well as the writing life, through Crawford’s expansive notes and records. 
    The Edward Hoagland Collection contains correspondence and materials from or relating to many prominent writers.  Just a few of the correspondents include Gretel Ehrlich, Annie Dillard, Barry Lopez, Archibald MacLeish, Anne Lamott, and John McPhee. The correspondence in the collection is expansive, including many personal letters, postcards, and notes from at least ninety well known writers and poets. 
     For further information, contact Diane Warner, 2-3749, or diane.warner@ttu.edu.

November 15, 2006 - A reception for Cherokee film star Wes Studi was held at the Southwest Collection following his speaking engagement at the Student Union Building. Studi is best known for his roles in movies such as The Last of the Mohicans and Geronimo: An American Legend, as well as the PBS Joe Leaphorn series based on the books by Tony Hillerman. His visit was part of Texas Tech's celebration of National Native American Heritage Month. [Tech Announce press release and images from the celebration.

February 15, 2007 - Reception for the Take Pride in the East Side Student Photography competition and exhibition.  Sponsored by the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library and The Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts, the reception took place from 4:00 – 6:30 p.m. in the Formby Room.  40 photographs chosen from over 150 submissions were displayed.  The Progressive Baptist Church Youth Choir performed two amazing songs that were enjoyed by all that attended.

Thanks to Dr. Marcy for playing photographer and taking the images below.  Click on the images to see a larger version.

Executive Director of the Southwest Collection, Dr. James Brink welcomes everyone to the Special Collections. Co-Director of the Southwest Collection, Dr. Tai Kreidler explains the importance of preserving local history for future generations.

The driving force behind the project, Eric Strong talks about the importance of such community projects. Dawn Wolf-Taylor and Katy Ballard draw names for door prizes.

Council woman Linda De Leon presents a city proclamation for the Take Pride in the East Side project, including individual recognition for each of the student participants. She also encouraged people who lived on the East Side to take pride in their community and work to improve it.

Representatives of the Underwood Center distribute door prizes to students who participated in the photo competition.

April 12, 2007 - A poetry reading by Lance Henson was held from 7-9 p.m. in the Formby Room.  Although Mr. Henson is of Cheyenne, Oglala and French descent, his poetry reflects his Southern Cheyenne heritage.  He is a Vietnam Vet (Marine Corps) and a member of the Cheyenne Dog Soldier Warrior Society, the Black Belt Karate Association, the Native American Church, and the American Indian Movement (AIM).

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