Collections
At Cushing Memorial Library and Archives we house fascinating collections and we are proud to serve a diverse community of users, both within and outside Texas A&M University. Cushing Library is open to all and we engage with patrons and visitors from all over the world.
Collections
Archival Collection
Established in 1950, the University Archives preserves and provides access to documents and artifacts that illuminate the history of Texas A&M. The archival collection includes student publications, photographs, correspondence files of administrative offices, football programs and films and much more.
Book History
With its emphasis on the development of media technologies which have fueled the intellectual, scientific, and political revolutions, these books and artifacts offer a valuable glimpse into the material products upon which this progress moved. A working handpress studio containing period accurate printing equipment allows hands-on exploration in bookmaking technologies.
Science Fiction
One of the largest collections of its kind, the SFFRC houses the papers and manuscripts of significant genre authors and is the depository for the books and papers of George R. R. Martin.
Exploration & Expansion
Among these collections are strong cartographic holdings reflecting exploration throughout the Americas, Central Africa, and elsewhere; maritime and nautical archeology; and a major military history collection focusing on the armed forces from the Spanish-American war through the Gulf War.
History of Ideas
The emphasis upon intellectual history in special collections includes materials related to Natural History (flora and fauna) Theology, Philosophy (with particular attention to the French Enlightenment), and Linguistics.
Language & Literature Collection
Cushing Library has strong holdings in a wide range of periods, genres, and collections of individual authors. Highlights include The Eduardo Urbina Cervantes Project Collection, Early Modern English poetry, Walt Whitman, the French Enlightenment, 20th Century English Fiction, and the Literature of Warfare.)
Texas & Borderlands Collection
These collections contain books, manuscripts, and artifacts from all periods of Texas history. The Colonial Mexican holdings include examples of the earliest printed books in the New World. Other strengths include cattle and ranching, Western exploration, and the Battle of San Jacinto.
Area Studies
These collections contain family papers, writings, correspondence, oral histories, extensive photographic collections, and archives from literary figures such as Lionel Garcia, Ernest Gaines, and Jayne Cortez, and from private collectors, including large LGBTQ+ collections. The collections represent various ethnic groups and their cultural experiences.