 Welcome to the Center for Southwest Research at the University of New Mexico. The Center for Southwest Research is a priceless resource for students, the public, and scholars researching a variety of topics or disciplines. The Center's collections can be broken into two categories, archival collections, which consist of primary sources that sometimes don't exist anywhere else, and special collections which consist of rare and local books. The Center collects materials primarily, but not exclusively, according to the following strengths. New Mexico history and cultures, with connections to the broader Southwest and Latin America, and specific strengths in Native American, Chicano and Hispano studies, and Spanish colonial topics from both sides of the Atlantic. The Center also actively collects materials relating to environmental studies, architecture, the history of UNM, and much more. There are collections in the Center that would be relevant to just about every major offered at UNM. You may be wondering what types of materials can be found within the Center of Southwest Research. Here are some examples of the variety of formats collected. Photographs and scrapbooks, artists books and folios, manuscripts, and other documents in Spanish, English, and languages indigenous to the Americas. Maps, particularly of Latin America and the Southwest. Posters and prints, architectural materials such as this floor plan of Zimmerman Library. Letters and diaries, and rare books and books on local topics. These make up the special collections. The oldest printed book in the Center dates from the mid-1400s and there's even a piece of Egyptian papyrus in the special collections dating from 30 BCE at the latest. Special collections books can be found in the library catalog starting from library.unm.edu just as you would search for a book in the regular library collections. One way to get started with archives is to explore some of the materials that have been digitized by center staff. The New Mexico Digital Collections feature digitized archival materials from many cultural institutions throughout New Mexico. You can limit your search to materials here at UNM or search statewide for a certain topic, format, or location. For example, a group of Navajos were interviewed between 1967 and 1962 and the conversations were transcribed so that you can read what they had to say. Many of these men and women were in their 80s at the time making this a valuable historical collection. Here's an example of a digitized photograph. This is the UNM women's basketball team from 1901. Images can be downloaded, shared via URL, or printed. While digitization is an ongoing project, most of the materials in the Center for Southwest Research have not been digitized so it's important to make use of something called a finding aid. This is sort of an inventory of a collection to help give you an idea of what is within. Many of the finding aids for collections at the Center are located on this website, the Rocky Mountain Online Archive, along with other finding aids from institutions across New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. You won't see digitized materials here but looking through the Center's finding aids can help give you an idea of what is available on a certain topic. If I were to do a search in the Rocky Mountain Online Archive for local author Rudolfo Anaya, I would find out that his papers are housed here in the Center. By reading through this finding aid, I can get an idea of the full extent of this collection, from his manuscripts and letters to documents, speeches, activism, and photographs. Because archival materials are not catalogued individually like books are, in addition to the fact that often different formats in a collection are stored separately from each other for preservation purposes. The finding aid is important because it literally helps researchers to find the materials that they need. After looking at this section of the finding aid, I can go to the reference desk in the Center for Southwest Research and say I would like to look at the Rudolfo Anaya Collection, Box 1, Folder 1, and they will bring me the first draft of Bless Me Ultima. I would be able to see this unique document and gain first-hand knowledge about his writing process. Now that you know how to find digital collections and look through finding aids online, you may be wondering what it's like to actually visit the Center for Southwest Research. You can find the Center on the first floor of Zimmerman Library, head over to the West Wing, or ask for directions in the learning commons on the first floor. The Center has its own information desk where student workers can help answer your questions. Across from the information desk, you'll find the Anderson Reading Room, where you can speak with a librarian, archivist, or staff member about your research interest. You don't need an appointment to use the Center and we are open to UNM students, staff, and faculty, as well as the general public and outside researchers. Here's a glimpse inside the Anderson Reading Room. This is where you can come to ask about a certain collection, or just see what advice the staff may have for you for finding archives or special collections on a certain topic. The professionals working here have detailed knowledge of Center collections, and they could likely recommend things that you hadn't even thought of. After speaking with someone at the reference desk, you can have a seat and they will bring you the materials you've requested, many of which are kept in climate controlled storage areas. Because of the nature of these collections, many of them are rare, unique, or valuable, we do have some rules for researchers. You cannot bring food, drinks, backpacks, bags, purses, laptop cases, or pens into the Anderson Room. You will be given a locker for your belongings. All materials must be viewed in the Anderson Reading Room and you cannot check out materials from the Center. You want to make sure that these materials will be available to future generations of researchers. You can use this overhead scanner to digitize portions of documents or images. You can email files to yourself or bring a flash drive to save your scans. While many educational pursuits are covered under something called fair use, it's important that you educate yourself about copyright law and make sure that you're respecting the rights of the people who created the records you're using. Now let's look at some more examples of the treasures you can find within the Center for Southwest Research. Some of these were photographed in the Anderson Reading Room and others were accessed online through New Mexico Digital Collections. Thank you for watching. Please don't hesitate to contact the Center or stop in for a visit.