Between the Pages

If you’ve been on the Texas Tech campus recently, you couldn’t miss the festive feel of a centennial celebration in full swing. From banners to life-size “100” icons in scarlet and black to special events in Lubbock and across the state, it’s an exciting time for alumni and supporters to celebrate our rich heritage.

At the Texas Tech Museum, the university’s Centennial is being celebrated with exhibitions across five different galleries and running through Dec. 23, 2023. Featured in these exhibits is an area devoted to the University Libraries. From Elizabeth Howard West, the first librarian and director of the library in 1925, to the official establishment of the Southwest Collection in 1955, to the opening of the library’s first computer rooms in 1984, the exhibit is a fascinating journey showcasing how far we’ve come as a library system.

Just a few other highlights include:

• Establishment of the Architecture Library in 1997
• Establishment of the Sowell Family Collection in Literature, Community & the Natural World in 2001
• Opening of the Crossroads Recording Studio in 2012
• Opening of the Makerspace in 2016
• Opening of the Peters Family Legacy Library in the Black Cultural Center in 2022

So many of the materials showcased during this year-long Centennial Celebration have come from the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library’s University Archives. The archivists and staff have worked diligently to provide the photos, oral histories and other historic materials that help showcase Texas Tech’s rich and sometimes colorful history.

That history is front and center now, and our future will build upon that legacy as we continue to provide inclusive resources and services for our diverse community, whether it’s comfortable and functional study spaces or podcast studios or public computers featuring the latest software. The Libraries have advanced intellectual inquiry and discovery at Texas Tech for a century and will continue to do so for the next 100 years in innovative and creative ways.

Earnstein Dukes

Dean of Libraries

Why libraries continue to play a vital role unmatched
by search engines

As you scroll through this newsletter, the device in your hand – be it your phone, computer, or tablet – has the power to search for an almost unimaginable amount of information in seconds. In the age of search engines, knowledge is constantly within reach – but is it really?

Despite the widespread belief that Google is a direct replacement for university libraries, search engines lack the ability to differentiate between facts and false information. University libraries remain essential for providing trustworthy, vetted information for students and faculty to utilize in their learning, research, and development.

Furthermore, university libraries are staffed by librarians specifically trained to find reliable information, distinguish between fact and opinion, and help students evaluate the credibility of sources.

ESSENTIAL RESOURCES OFFERED BY THE LIBRARIES:

Comprehensive and reliable information

• Unlike search engines, university libraries provide access to a wide range of credible, peer-reviewed information sources, including journals, databases, and archives that are not freely available on the internet.

Expert support

• University librarians are trained experts who provide research support and guidance to help students and faculty find and evaluate information, making the research process more efficient and effective.

Technology

• University libraries invest in the latest technology to provide students and the community with cutting-edge tools and resources to support their learning and research needs.

Collaboration

• University libraries provide spaces for collaboration, encouraging students, faculty, and the community to work together and exchange ideas.

University libraries are truly more essential than ever. Here at Texas Tech, we look forward to continuing to support students and faculty in their academic pursuits for many years to come.

Brad Davis

Associate Director, Development

The library building was last expanded in 1976, when the school only had 21,704 students. Today, the same building serves 40,528 students!

By Allie Herring

Just the tops of students’ heads are visible as they sit in the wooden cubicles of the Texas Tech University Library’s fifth floor stacks, backpacks at their feet and notebooks spread open. Toward the back wall, a student flips through a stack of flashcards, sometimes saying the terms quietly out loud to himself.

Many busy Tech students are grateful for study spaces in the library – but for sophomore Mike Blando, the quiet study areas are appreciated more than most.

The business management administration major from Keller, Texas, has dyslexia. This can create serious obstacles in completing his coursework, he said, but he has found ways to study that work for him.

“The library is a great place for peace and quiet,” Blando said. “I can go there and have a study room to myself and just have it out – I can write stuff on whiteboards and listen to material out loud.”

Blando said finding a space where he can focus is vital to his academic success, especially as he begins to take upper-level classes.

“Having dyslexia in college is a lot more difficult than having dyslexia in high school and middle school,” he said.

While Blando said he appreciates the resources available from Student Disability Services, he also likes how the library provides him with the space necessary to work through things alone at his own pace.

“I don’t like making my dyslexia extremely public,” Blando said, “so it’s nice to have the library, where I can go study and make it as verbal as I want in a study room.”

When he doesn’t need to focus as intensely, Blando heads to the library basement, where he said he enjoys the community aspect of studying around other college students.

“People are so helpful and kind,” he said. “I can ask the person next to me if they know what a word means, or how to pronounce it, and they’ll help me out.”

With his busy schedule, Blando said being able to stop by the library for study sessions in between classes is crucial.

“It’s the one place I know I can go study on campus that will be quiet and no one will disturb me,” Blando said.

Because these individual study spaces are so important to his daily schedule, he said he blocks off time in his day to spend catching up on coursework in the library.

“It’s a space that’s helped me excel in terms of learning and studying,”
Blando said.

About me:

I live on the county line of Trophy Club and Southlake, Texas, with my mom and twin sister. When I’m not studying or doing homework, I like to read books, hangout with my friends, cook, and call my family back home.

Why I chose TTU CoA:

I chose Tech because I started off with the dual major of civil engineering and architecture, and it was the only school where I could try both. It was also in Texas, closer to my family.

How the Architecture Library helps me:

It’s a place where knowledge is expanded – I’ve checked out a lot of books! All the scanners and printers are very beneficial to architecture students. It’s a really welcoming place to study and hang out with friends.

There are 108 different countries represented by Texas Tech students.

The Architecture Library hosted their annual Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon. The event aims to bring people to learn the process of editing for Wikipedia: dos & don’ts, common mistakes Wiki-editors flag and what constitutes a proper source. This year was themed around feminist icons in architecture in celebration of Women’s History Month. Participants enjoyed commemorative buttons, snacks, pizza and more.

A Studio Class in the Huckabee College of Architecture recently visited the Architecture Library to create buttons to coincide with a phase of their design studio project that they will be distributing during their upcoming final reviews.

The Library provides 411 Databases for Texas Tech Students.

The Top 5 Databases used by students are:

1. Scopus
2. Academic Search Complete
3. APA PsychInfo
4. ABI Inform Global
5. Ebsco Ebooks

The Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library holds the

world’s largest ranching collection.

The Southwest Collection holds more than 45 sports collections that include the papers and records of the old Southwest Conference, the National College Baseball Hall of Fame and 221-plus oral history interviews which cover the individual reminiscences of legendary, college coaches Darrell Royal and John Jenkins, TTU broadcast legend Jack Dale, Dallas Cowboy Duane Thomas, and baseball legends Barry Larkin, and Bob Horner.

By Marcos Rubio

What do long drives, diners with good eatin’ and Native American history have in common? Most likely, you would think your Texas hometown. But in this new collection of essays, these regional symbols are extended to the works of David Lynch.

Faculty at the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, along with Christine Self, director of Parent & Family Relations, are editors of a new book looking at Lynch and the thematic ties to the American West. Titled “David Lynch and the American West,” the book was released earlier this year.

“I surveyed academic books on David Lynch’s films and television work and recognized that there was a gap,” says Rob E. King, author and editor. “No one had collected or written about his oeuvre through a scope of regionalism.”

King adds that with the additional perspective of co-editors Christine Self and Robert Weaver, the idea had legs beyond simple musings and self-contained articles.

This was further reinforced by how obvious in retrospect the project felt upon completion.

“I think all of us might say that what initially seemed like a niche idea began to read across the essays as relevant and perhaps even obvious,” King said. “I do not think David Lynch ever intentionally incorporates the American West as a foregrounded theme, but the environment of the Pacific Northwest culturally influences both him and Mark Frost when they work on Twin Peaks. His life journey to the West—Hollywood, California—informs his art…We have to reckon with Native American representation or backgrounded indigenous culture in the stories or mise-en-scène. The essays and three interviews gave us the very definable sections of Regionalism, Indigeneity & Representation, and Road Narrative & Genre.”

“David Lynch and the American West” was submitted to the Humanities Center Faculty-led Book Group for Spring 2023 and received a $500 Grant.

The University Libraries’ Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library provides access to the La Ventana, University Daily and Daily Toreador.

La Ventana - https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/handle/2346/48621/browse?type=dateissued

UD and Daily Toreador - http://collections2.swco.ttu.edu/handle/20.500.12255/71383

The Library hosted a Research Party to help spread awareness of the Research Hub, and its mission to provide the best research advice and a comfortable study space. (Photo by Ryan Burns)

The University Library now hosts a Snack Spot in Room 132, the Research Hub. Snack Spots across campus are part of Raider Red’s Food Pantry and provide students with short-term access to supplemental food.

Oral Histories

The Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library has almost 6,900 interviews conducted by SWC staff and almost 7,000 interviews from outside resources that are part of their audio/visual and manuscript holdings. Some notable interviews include dust bowl recollections, sports, wind energy and agriculture.

(https://guides.library.ttu.edu/c.php?g=1275281)

By Daniel Sanchez

¡Celebrando! La Cultura de Ballet Folklórico y Mariachi showcases the Southwest Collection and University Archive Hispanic holdings. Specifically, it concentrates on the legacy of the region’s Ballet Folklórico and Mariachi groups. Both groups of entertainers and cultural icons are used to celebrate a myriad of important historical dates and personal milestones.

The exhibit, housed in the main exhibit space outside of the Holden Reading Room, will run from May 5-Aug. 31, 2023, and will feature a Texas Tech Ballet Folklórico dress, a Mariachi Raiders Rojos traje, and images of ballet folklórico and mariachi groups.

An exhibit opening reception on May 5 featured dancers and Mariachi performers.

(Photos by Marcos Rubio)

The Texas Tech University Libraries is one of the most utilized and important resources on campus. The University Libraries provides students with access to knowledge and information that they would not otherwise have. It is also a place where students can come to study, relax and escape the stresses of university life.

As the cost of tuition has risen over the past two decades and the economy fluctuates, the University Libraries and the university itself are increasingly relying on alumni donations to maintain operations and to provide excellence to our students. For many alumni, monthly giving is the most effective way to show their support, and monthly pledges are an easy and convenient way for alumni to continuously support the Libraries. Even a small monthly pledge can make a huge difference to our students.

Your monthly pledge to the University Libraries provides a reliable and consistent source of funding that allows Tech to maintain high standards of excellence and continue to offer the world-class education that you received when you were a student here. In addition, your monthly gift allows us to plan ahead and make long-term investments in our research resources, technologies and study areas.

Please make a commitment to give today and help us to continue to shape the future of the Texas Tech University Libraries and Texas Tech University. The University Libraries are a vital part of the university experience, and your donation will make a difference in the lives of countless students.

It's easy to make a monthly pledge to the University Libraries! Just follow the following directions:

Online Pledge Instructions:

• Visit https://bit.ly/ttulibrarygifts
• Select one of the University Libraries designations, example “Southwest Collection Fund for Excellence.”
• Type in your Gift Amount in the specified box. (If you choose to make a recurring gift (pledge), this is the amount that will be charged each period.)
• If you want to make a recurring gift and not a one-time donation, check the Recurring Gift box.
• From this window, select the Frequency of Gift. Choose your payment date from the options (the current date, the 1st of the month, or the 15th of the month). Choose your gift frequency (either monthly, quarterly, twice a year, or yearly)
• After this, you have the option to specify if you would like to receive notifications regarding when each payment will be sent (before being charged).
• From here, you enter your personal information and specify whether your gift is a tribute, joint gift, or part of a company match program, and click on the Next button.

If you would prefer help to walk you through the process, or if you have any further questions, please reach out to Krystal Baker (krystal.baker@ttu.edu or 806-834-4317) or to me.

Thank you in advance for your support of Texas Tech University and the University Libraries!

Strive for Honor,

Brad Davis

brad.davis@ttu.edu

806-834-8225 office

Email: libraries.website@ttu.edu
Website: library.ttu.edu
Location: 2802 18th Street, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
Phone: 806.742.2265
Facebook: facebook.com/TexasTechLib
Twitter: @TexasTechLib