The staff of Central University Libraries are deeply saddened to share the news about the death of our wonderful and brilliant colleague, Dillon Wackerman. After a nationwide search, Dillon joined SMU’s Central University Libraries on August 1, 2016, as the Digital Repository Librarian. He quickly rebranded SMU’s digital repository as SMU Scholar and transformed it…Continue Reading In memory of our colleague, Dillon Wackerman
The metalwork, photographs, prints, and sculpture selected for the new exhibition, Texas Women Artists: Selections from Bywaters Special Collections, are from the holdings of Bywaters Special Collections, located in the Jake and Nancy Hamon Arts Library. Each artist represented in the exhibition had early art training, most of it professional, yet career paths diverged as…Continue Reading Texas Women Artists: Selections from Bywaters Special Collections on view
Preparing students to join college life has always been a concern to university administrators. In 1915 (and for some years after), freshmen at SMU were called “Fish.” During that first spring semester, seniors pranked two unsuspecting classes with fake finals. As early as 1919, incoming freshman had mandatory psychological tests. These tests (although updated) remained…Continue Reading Joining the SMU Community
Now available online are 316 images, ca. 1910-1916, by Captain Harry A. Erickson of the United States Air Service. The photographs, which are part of an album held by the DeGolyer Library, depict early planes and aviation pioneers. The images show early air shows, the testing and successful flight of seaplanes and floatplanes, and activities…Continue Reading Early Aviation Album: Photographs of Early Flights and Aeronautical Pioneers
As part of the graduation requirements to earn my Master’s Degree in Liberal Studies from Southern Methodist University, I completed a capstone project titled Two Texans at the MoMA: Medellin and Spruce. The purpose of my project was to collaborate with the Bywaters Special Collections staff to complete a research paper using the many primary…Continue Reading Two Texans at the MoMA: Medellin and Spruce
In July 2017, SMU’s Central University Libraries uploaded 326 items into CUL Digital Collections. Highlights include: 149 real photographic postcards, ca. 1900-1923, from the George W. Cook Dallas/Texas Image Collection, as part of the TexTreasures FY2017 grant program, sponsored by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and funded by the Institute of Museum and…Continue Reading CUL Digital Collections Update: July 2017