Pool scene at Riviera Hotel and Casino

Special Collections and Archives News

The UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives supports researchers worldwide in the interdisciplinary study of Las Vegas, Southern Nevada, and gaming.

Current Special Collections and Archives News

Su Kim Chung poses with cardboard cutouts of Sammy Davis Jr. Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin in the UNLV Special Collections and Archives office
People |

Su Kim Chung shares what's special to her after a quarter century working in UNLV Special Collections & Archives.

Josh Hawkins, UNLV
Campus News |

News highlights featuring UNLV students and staff who made (refreshing) waves in the headlines.

vigil setup with sign that reads UNLV Strong
Campus News |

University Libraries adds first-person accounts to the historical record of the Dec. 6 campus shooting. 

students in spring
Campus News |

News highlights starring UNLV students and faculty who made local and national headlines.

black and white photo of clara bow with dunes behind her
People |

The original 'It Girl' — and subject of Taylor Swift’s latest song — has strong ties to Southern Nevada. Discover more from the UNLV Special Collections & Archives.

archival image of four men posing in graduation regalia
UNLV History |

The former student body president and longtime donor passes away, 60 years after UNLV's first commencement. 

Special Collections and Archives In The News

KSNV-TV: News 3

The iconic Tropicana Hotel, a fixture on the Las Vegas Strip for 67 years, is set to be demolished next Wednesday. The historic property, which closed its doors in April, will make way for a new Major League Baseball stadium.

KLAS-TV: 8 News Now

For 67 years, the Tropicana was a staple on the Las Vegas Strip. It first opened on April 4th, 1957. UNLV history professor Micheal Green said the casino was the most advanced when it was built, now symbolized as part of the old Las Vegas.

Christopher Kimball’s Milk Street Radio

It’s our first live episode of Milk Street Radio, recorded at The Beverly Theater in Las Vegas! In this special episode, Su Kim Chung shares Las Vegas’s most fascinating restaurants from history; “Top Chef” contestant and Black Sheep chef/owner Jamie Tran answers live cooking questions; and Neon Feast creator Al Mancini takes us on his ultimate food and drinking tour—complete with tiki rooms, hidden gems and one unforgettable dive bar that serve shots out of porcelain toilets.

KLAS-TV: 8 News Now

To many, he was known as “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” to others, “The Hillbilly Cat,” “The Memphis Flash,” “Elvis the Pelvis,” or simply “The King.” In Las Vegas, the Entertainment Capital of the World, Elvis Presley will always be remembered for the many years he spent performing to sold-out audiences from 1969 to 1977.

KVVU-TV: Fox 5

As the Tropicana closed its doors, 67 years of history were left behind. It is history that will now be home to UNLV’s library. “History is important, right, it’s the way we tell our story based on these pieces of evidence and having the records from the Tropicana itself enables historians and scholars. members of the community to understand the impact the Tropicana had in Las Vegas,” Sarah Quigley the director of special collections and Archives said.

KTNV-TV: ABC 13

It has been over five months since a gunman opened fire at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, killing three professors. Now, the UNLV Oral History Research Center is launching a new project that hopes to "enhance the historical record around that day with first-hand accounts of the tragedy, campus and community response, and recovery efforts."

Recent Special Collections and Archives Accomplishments

Darnelle O. Melvin (Libraries) presented two papers during the 2023 LD4 Conference on Linked Data this month. "Proactive strategies to improve underrepresentation in public knowledge graphs: A Wikidata sprint in UNLV Special Collections highlighting LGBTQ+ Las Vegas" highlights efforts by UNLV Special Collections & Archives to bring to…
Michael Don Fraser (Special Collections and Archives) recently published a book review in the Journal of Western Archives, Vol. 13 (2022). He reviewed Advancing Preservation for Archives and Manuscripts by Elizabeth Joffrion and Michèle V. Cloonan. In his review, he called this work a worthy update to the ongoing Archival Fundamentals Series…
Tammi Kim (Libraries) is the co-author of an article, "Learning from Las Vegas: Adapting Workflows for Managing Born-Digital Design Records," published in the fall/winter 2021 issue of The American Archivist, the semi-annual journal of the Society of American Archivists. The article discusses UNLV Special Collections and Archives' approach to…
Claytee White (Libraries) was honored by Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman with the designation of Feb. 24, 2021, as Claytee White Day in the city of Las Vegas. White is the director of the Oral History Research Center in the University Libraries Special Collections and Archives, is a member of the Las Vegas Historic Preservation Commission, and is…
Lauren Paljusaj (English), along with Anne Savage and Susanna Newbury (both Art) wrote an essay that was published in Nevada Humanities' inaugural Double Down post on distance — part of its COVID-response series on human connection. The essay considers how to interpret photographs as meaningful points of time-lapsed contact. Using UNLV Special…
Lauren Paljusaj (English) and Anne Savage (Art) have been jointly awarded the University Libraries Lance & Elena Calvert prize for "Intimate Nevada," their research in photography in the UNLV Special Collections. This research reflected on concepts of the vernacular and the everyday in Southern Nevada. Mentors in Special Collections…