Archival Resources

Special Collections materials are often rare or fragile. Careful handling ensures the long-term preservation of materials so that both current and future researchers can benefit from the rich historical collections housed at UTSA.

• Above all, be gentle. Take note of already-torn or brittle documents and partially-detached book covers, and handle those items with particular care.
• Do not take notes on top of materials, lean on materials or press down on them with a hand or elbow.
• Do not mark, fold, or use post-it notes on materials.
• Do not keep damage a secret – if you accidentally tear or damage an item, please notify staff.
• Do not take any materials out of the reading room.
• All materials must be returned to a staff member before leaving the Reading Room for more than 15 minutes.
• Do not remove materials that you wish to have photocopied or scanned. Instead, mark them with colored flags as directed by staff and fill out a photocopy request form.

Note that photocopy and scan requests may take several days to process, depending on the quantity ordered and the volume of orders.