Special Collections and University Archives

Members of the St. Mary's University community and external researchers are welcome to consult our collections. With the exception of born-digital or digitized material, all archives, manuscript, and rare book items are non-circulating and must be accessed by appointment in the Special Collections reading room. Please contact archives@stmarytx.edu in advance of your visit to schedule an appointment or with any questions.

It is recommended that researchers complete secondary research on a topic before embarking upon primary research with archival collections. If this is your first time doing archival research, we recommend that you consult the Society of American Archivists' web guide Using Archives: A Guide to Effective Research.

Pencils or laptops are allowed for taking notes. Handheld cameras, tablets, or cellphones are recommended for photographs, which may be used for research purposes only. Photocopies and digital scans from the special collections are completed by library staff  and can be requested only of unbound and non-fragile materials. Researchers must ask permission before publishing, posting, or otherwise broadcasting copies of any materials in our collections.