{"id":326,"date":"2026-02-27T10:39:24","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T15:39:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/special-collections\/?p=326"},"modified":"2026-02-27T10:39:24","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T15:39:24","slug":"whats-so-special-about-special-collections-a-students-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/special-collections\/2026\/02\/27\/whats-so-special-about-special-collections-a-students-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s so special about special collections? A student\u2019s perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Written by student assistant, Ryann Ragsdale<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a lot of us think of archives, we imagine a dark, dusty corner of a library in a detective show. They sort through boxes of information, thick manila folders of looseleaf paper with financial records or newspaper clippings. After hours of back-bending research they find what they are looking for, some pivotal information that leads to an arrest or major discovery. While this is a reality for a lot of archives (and excitingly so!), there is a more colorful side to these spaces. For a lot of researchers, archives are where they go for inspiration, a trip down memory lane, or simply to look at rare objects they may not come across otherwise. So, what is so special about Special Collections? In this humble student’s opinion, I think it is an opportunity to interact with incredible works of art.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The University of North Texas has been collecting Artist Books since the 1990\u2019s, a feat that has culminated into a really exciting collection. You might be wondering, what is an Artist Book? An artist book is \u201ca medium in which to convey artistic expression using the form and function of a book,\u201d as described by UNT<\/a>. It is hard to imagine a book as anything other than bound pages with a front and back cover, but amazing artists like Alyssa Berry have imagined it in forms like a VHS tape! The artist book \u201cMovies that Made Me: Vol.1\u201d<\/a> is one of the many standout creations housed by UNT Special Collections. Not only can you see this Artist Book in person, but you can turn the pages with your own hands. In this way, Archives become an interactive museum. Anywhere else and you\u2019d have an attendant telling you to stand five feet back!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As if the Artist Books were not enough of a draw, UNT has also been working towards creating a Zine Library. Zines are independently published magazines, the creation of which started with science fiction fans in the 30s and 40s, according to the AMON Carter Museum of American Art<\/a>. UNT\u2019s collection of zines has a wide variety, with topics ranging from trans-allyship to Denton cats and even Bojack Horseman. There\u2019s so much to discover in the 500+ zines housed in the collection!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Archives are special facilities and one like UNT\u2019s is hard to come by. Not only does it house rare materials like medieval manuscripts, Kelmscott Press editions of classic literature, university records, and many other exciting traditional materials, it is a home to many works of art. So, the next time you are asked \u201cwhat\u2019s so special about special collections?\u201d you\u2019ll have an answer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Written by student assistant, Ryann Ragsdale When a lot of us think of archives, we imagine a dark, dusty corner of a library in a detective show. They sort through boxes of information, thick manila folders of looseleaf paper with financial records or newspaper clippings. After hours of back-bending research they find what they are… Read more »<\/a>","protected":false},"author":145,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/special-collections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/special-collections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/special-collections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/special-collections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/145"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/special-collections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/special-collections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":338,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/special-collections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326\/revisions\/338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/special-collections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/special-collections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.library.unt.edu\/special-collections\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}