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Cultural Scene and Heard: Culture Through Collections
By Lisha Ross
Life is culture. Living is learning. You can learn about it while surfing the History or Discovery channels. You can sift through various websites and take your best guess as to whether the information is accurate or not. Or, you can make a short journey to that fabled place with all those FREE books. That place you spent hours toiling in the reference section in college. It’s your public library. And guess what! You don’t have to be writing a research paper or thesis to discover what historical gems and modern marvels are stowed away in the Special Collections department. Heck! You don’t need a reason at all, save for expanding your mind a bit, or maybe just spending a quiet, educational afternoon with the kids or all by yourself.
Especially Special
What’s so special about special collections? A special collection is full of rare and unique items that differentiate one library from another, often things you cannot find anywhere else in the world; books, posters, digital files, photographs, original documents and the like representing a specific theme. You’d be surprised how much work goes into the development and maintenance of such a collection. Committees are formed, experts consulted, media gathered and sorted. Once you experience it for yourself, you might understand. But the real joy is when you find a special collection that just speaks to you, and with so many libraries about town, each with their own unique collection, there is definitely something out there for everyone.
UNLV
Home of the mighty Rebels, our fair city’s university has one of the more grand collections in town, all dedicated to the history, culture and physical environment of Las Vegas and the exploration of the West. Like a museum gallery unto itself (except that you can actually touch the goods) the reading room of the special collections department on the third floor of the Lied Library is the only portion of the collection where you can view materials without requesting them. It houses the Taxe Collection on gaming, atlases and maps circa 16th century, Clark County Land Office Survey maps, a journal of George Wheeler’s expedition of the West, Ansel Adams’ Sierra Nevada picture book and a broad scope of related artifacts. A great feature here is a rather large assortment of 16-18th century books on gaming, including many by Edmond Hoyle, the well-known gamblin’ man who set the standard for modern gaming. If you’re at all interested in statistics, whether for practical purposes or intellectual stimulation, this will certainly tickle your fancy.
Everything else in the collection is closed stack, which means you must peruse the university website for items of interest and request them specifically. It’s well worth the effort, as this is where you’ll find some of the most exclusive materials. “Showgirls” contains drawings of garish costume plumage and, dare I mention, the topless female form; a reflection of the kind of vivid adult entertainment that put Vegas on the map, with notes of vaudeville, burlesque and Broadway. “Dino at the Sands” tells of Dean Martin and the Rat Pack through photographs and documents; “Welcome Home, Howard” explores the infamous aviator Howard Hughes; and “Las Vegas and Water in the West” covers the struggle between water supply and growth. At this point, you’ve barely breached the surface. There are still oral histories, modern how-to gambling guides, music and myriad other fascinations to uncover. Prepare yourself in advance by visiting http://library.nevada.edu/speccol/index.html.
Las Vegas
At the West Las Vegas Library, you’ll find the African American collection, focusing on the African American experience in Las Vegas, Nevada and the West. Built to promote a sense of community and to empower readers, especially African Americans, the collection is comprised of the Frederick Douglas collection, highlighting the works of the esteemed abolitionist; the National Collection and the Nevada Collection, both brimming with books and materials by and about African Americans in the western states of the U.S. and in Las Vegas, past and present. These stories are told through books, photographs, newspaper clippings, articles and memorabilia that have been graciously donated by members of the West Las Vegas Community. Check out more special collections in the Clark County Library District at www.lvccld.org, including the Asian Culture Collection at Spring Valley Library and the International Language Collection at Sahara West Library, among others.
Henderson
Looking for your roots? Start digging at the Clark County Genealogy Society Collection at the Paseo Verde Library (280 S. Green Valley Pkwy.). In a quiet room, you can research your lineage and find records from the Henderson area and around the globe. In addition to branching off the family tree, every Henderson library has a Nevada Collection, which contains not only historical and cultural photographs, objects and data, but also modern information on hiking trails and wildlife as well as books by Nevada residents. With Henderson Library’s virtual library (www.mypubliclibrary.com), you can also browse digital collections of photographs, newsletters and newspaper clippings, scrapbooks and memorabilia spanning about 7 decades of life in Henderson from World War II and onward.
There’s a wealth of knowledge tucked between the worn pages of those closed stacks and collections. See for yourself!
