Page 8 - 2018 Fall Newsletter

A LOOK INSIDE

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

The library’s vault of historic writings and artifacts chronicles the

history of TCU and Fort Worth.
by Zach Martino, TCU Magazine

Special Collections isn’t just an archive but a well of knowledge useful for students, faculty and
researchers alike. It is something of a haven in the Mary Couts Burnett Library.

Along with former U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright’s personal papers are rare books, old scrapbooks and TCU-related
historical documents.

“They are items in the library that we don’t let circulate,” said Mary Saffell, senior archivist for Special Collections. She
said the items are “unique, rare or irreplaceable.”

Located on the library’s third floor, the archives house historical documents and artifacts, such as university-related sports
memorabilia. Inside “the vault” — a secure room filled with boxes, books and more — are the personal papers of some of
Fort Worth’s prominent citizens.

Besides Wright’s collective papers, Special Collections holds the
archival papers of Amon G. Carter, who once owned the Star-Telegram
daily newspaper in Fort Worth and has an art museum that bears his
name.

Carter’s slew of historical documents catalog his rise as a businessman
and football junkie. “They cover his business ventures in publishing
and oil and aviation, and his goal to boost Fort Worth and boost the
profile of Fort Worth,” Saffell said, citing the Carter papers as among
the most visited archives in Special Collections.

Historical documentation is one of the main values of the archives,
Saffell said. The library’s special unit can trace TCU’s growth going
back to Thorp Spring and Waco, Texas. The collection of papers, she
said, “documents the administration, student life and academics.”
Lt. Amon Carter, Jr. with his father, Amon G. Carter, after the
Also in the vault are student-made scrapbooks from a young university younger Carter was released from a German prison camp in 1945.
campus, which Saffell likes because “they show how many things have Amon G. Carter was a prominent Fort Worth figure and publisher of
changed, but a lot still stay the same.” the Star-Telegram. His archival papers are in Special Collections.

Other items include a large selection of books, with some dating to the European Renaissance. Saffell said these books are
a great resource for student researchers and a teaching tool for faculty.

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