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The discussion of information
in libraries these days appears to be heavily weighted towards
matters involving electronic information sources, the expanding
digital information commons, the new technologies that we have
either embraced or have had engulf us. That is as it should be
in this chip-based time. But it ignores much of the equally important
collection- The addition of special collections to research libraries is as important as gathering new seed corn, the gathering and laying up of resources that will support fresh learning and discovery in the future. Without this enrichment, libraries would become stale and shallow places. It is the record of other times and studies, brought together by purposeful collectors, that makes the special collection such an important acquisition beyond its individual components. Our libraries have been particularly fortunate in the past year or two. We have experienced the greatest addition of new collections in many years. They are distinguished by their substance and also by the means of their acquisition--some by gift, some by single fund purchase, and others through collaborative campus funding efforts. What marks them all, perhaps, has been the combined effort of the campus community and library friends to help identify, purchase, or encourage their donation to us. As the third-largest public academic library in the country,
it is not the eight million volumes that count so much as it is
the quality of the collections, and such special collections as
these—detailed in this issue of our Newsletter—that lift our
libraries in the eyes of the scholarly world.
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building
activity that continues in the great tradition of libraries both
past and still to come.
The Américo Paredes Papers
The papers of internationally known scholar and humanist Américo Paredes (1915-1999) are now part of the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection. The materials are described by Margo Gutiérrez, who negotiated the purchase from the Paredes heirs, as "a remarkably rich resource on the life and work of Don Américo that reflects his lasting legacy in the fields of Mexican American folklore, literature, anthropology, and music."
The papers (65.5 feet) include manuscripts of his published and unpublished work, correspondence, note cards, class notes, audio and videotapes, sheet music and songbooks, and files of his editorial work for major folklore journals. These materials represent a significant addition to the more than ninety archival collections at the Benson Collection that document the Hispanic presence in the United States. Among these are the papers of Don Américo's contemporaries, educator George I. Sánchez (1906-1972) and sociologist Julián Samora (1920-1996).
"Don Américo," as he was affectionately known, received his doctorate in English in 1956 from The University, where he spent his scholarly life. He taught, inspired students, and developed special programs and centers on folklore of the U.S. Southwest and Mexico and for the study of Mexican American culture.
Paredes's early poetry and stories, based on experiences in his native Brownsville and the Lower Rio Grande Valley, appeared in newspapers in south Texas before he did his graduate work. An early novel written before World War II was published as George Washington Gómez: A Mexicotexan Novel in 1991. His most enduring publications stem from his work as a folklorist. His collections of tales and corridos—the folk songs and ballads of the Texas-Mexican border—allowed him to challenge the anthropological literature that until then examined Mexican culture in Texas from an outsider's view.
