Southwest Collection

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Southwest Collection The Southwest Collection acquires, preserves, and makes accessible archival collections of regional, national, and international significance.

The Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library at Texas Tech University holds archives of national and international significance. It is one of the one of the top academic research repositories in the country. The marquee unit of the institution is the Southwest Collection, which encompasses millions leaves of documents, over a hundred thousand books, millions of photographs, thousands of oral histories, reels of microfilm, and films and videos relating to the history, economy, politics, military, environment, and cultures of the U.S. Through an active field program the Southwest Collection acquires and preserves many important collections. For example, it houses the largest collection of historic ranching related materials in the United States and undoubtedly the world. In addition, there are numerous important collections relating to: military affairs (including 19th and 20th century); architecture, religion (Jewish Archives and Protestant denominations), sports, farming, Archives for the History of Financial Planning, oil production, water resources, politics (including legislative, gubernatorial, and congressional collections), radio broadcasting, advertising, urban development, commercial and business growth, waste disposal, industrial development, science and technology [including, wind and atmospheric sciences (Tetsuya “Ted” Fujita Papers), federal solar power projects, the Mohole Project, and nuclear waste disposal project, NASA records (Colombia Commander Rick Husband, Dr. Sherman Vinograd collections, and others)], immigration, minority studies, genealogy, and the environment. We hold records from various organizations such as the National College Baseball Hall of Fame, the Southwest Athletic and Big Twelve Conferences, Cooperative Communicators of America, Disabled American Veterans: Texas Division, and the WWII Glider Pilots Association. The modern facilities at the archive encompass the Holden Reading Room, an attractive open research environment with microfilm reader/copiers, independent study carrels, online catalogue database access, and security lockers. The Marshall Formby conference room can seat a hundred people for symposia and meetings. The Governor Preston Smith conference room has wireless and white-board screen capabilities. We house the Hoblitzelle Conservation Lab and an Exhibits and Outreach department that works with regional organizations and campus departments to create exhibits advertising the holdings of the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library.

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The TTU Libraries will not allow profanity, discriminatory and/or hostile remarks, nor provide a stage for political movements or stands on controversial issues. We reserve the right to remove posts.

10/20/2026

Learn more about the Southwest Conference and the materials housed at the SWC through KCBD's feature with SWC Archivist Robert Weaver.

Archivists Jaymie Allison, Lynn Whitfield, and Robert Weaver deserve all the praise for providing an insider look into t...
10/19/2026

Archivists Jaymie Allison, Lynn Whitfield, and Robert Weaver deserve all the praise for providing an insider look into the SWC for these homecoming visitors! They are amazing!

On this frigid Friday, we are highlighting two journal entries written by Margaret Tweed, sister-in-law to William Tweed...
10/16/2026

On this frigid Friday, we are highlighting two journal entries written by Margaret Tweed, sister-in-law to William Tweed, in October 1868 from the Tweed Family Papers. Below contains the print translation. If you have any suggestions/corrections to our translation, drop them in the comments!

đź“ťTuesday. In the afternoon went to W. Cranes to get some paints & brushes. Called on Uncle Alfred went to see about my pictures called on Molly [illegible] & Mrs. Smith, neither of them home, was home in time for tea, beautiful day.

📝Wednesday. Snowed till after 12. M. Emma & I cleaned laundry off the setting room. Went to Aunt Susan’s [illegible] 4 PM dinner met the [illegible] friends. A.G. Nichols spent the night with me. Emma went to [illegible] 5PM. reached home about 9PM

For more information on Margaret, read our blog at: bit.ly/TweedFamily
The Tweed Family Papers are digitized and available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10605/60294

Last Saturday, Archivists Kylie Kincaid and Georgie Gaines attended the Border Regional Archives Group’s Annual Archives...
10/14/2026

Last Saturday, Archivists Kylie Kincaid and Georgie Gaines attended the Border Regional Archives Group’s Annual Archives Bazaar in Alpine, TX. Several objects from the Sowell Collection and Rare Books units are showcased in the photos here to represent this year’s theme, “Living with the Land.”

Today also happens to be Day! If you have any questions regarding the materials used or about the work we do at the Southwest Collection/Special Collection’s Library, we have answers!

Don't forget to join us TOMORROW at 5:30pm in the Formby Room of the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library fo...
10/07/2026

Don't forget to join us TOMORROW at 5:30pm in the Formby Room of the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library for the inaugural Jim and Mitzie Wittliff Lecture. Dr. Zachary Hernández will speak about “Decolonial Aesthetics and the Cultural Impact of Teresa Urrea.”

If you are unable to attend in person, virtual registration is still open at bit.ly/Wittliff2026

10/06/2026

The Sowell Virtual Reading Series starts October 15th at 5:30 pm CT with Kristi Osorio. Join us in-person in the Formby room at the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library or online via Zoom.

Happy World Teachers’ Day! Pictured here are Dr. Alan Stout, Professor Burl Hubbard, and Dr. Howard Golden racing on tr...
10/05/2026

Happy World Teachers’ Day!

Pictured here are Dr. Alan Stout, Professor Burl Hubbard, and Dr. Howard Golden racing on tricycles around Memorial Circle on April 20, 1961. Throughout the 1960s, Alpha Phi Omega sponsored the annual bicycle race as a part of the Spring Festival on campus. Several other images from this event are digitized and available at https://hdl.handle.net/10605/7544

Join us for the Inaugural Jim and Mitzie Wittliff Lecture next Thursday, October 8th at 5:30pm in the Formby Room of the...
10/01/2026

Join us for the Inaugural Jim and Mitzie Wittliff Lecture next Thursday, October 8th at 5:30pm in the Formby Room of the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library. Dr. Zachary Hernández, Professor of Literature at Texas A&M International University and a TTU alumnus, will speak about “Decolonial Aesthetics and the Cultural Impact of Teresa Urrea.”

Celebrated as a “folk saint” by the Yaqui and Mayo peoples of the Sonoran Desert in Mexico, Teresa Urrea (also known as Teresita and La Santa de Cábora) was a prominent historical figure along the early 20th-century U.S.-Mexico Border. She was also the subject of 5 historical novels, including Teresita by Texas Tech University professor Dr. William Curry Holden. Dr. Hernández will discuss Urrea’s depictions in these works, as well as the broader impact that her fictional and historical legacy has had on the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands.

Generously supported by James L. and Theresa H. “Mitzie” Wittliff, the bi-annual Wittliff Lecture features scholars whose work touches upon the archives of the Southwest Collection.

For inquiries, please contact Southwest Collection Archivist Robert Weaver ([email protected]).

10/01/2026

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MS 41041, 15th And Detroit, Texas Tech University
Lubbock, TX
79409

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