From now until March 5, UTSA Libraries Special Collections is collecting signs, posters, buttons, stickers and other non-digital ephemera from current and recent protests.
Donated materials will be preserved in UTSA’s archives to provide later generations with first-hand documentation and evidence of social and political events, ideas and actions in San Antonio.
“These items are often thrown away or discarded, and while they aren’t what we traditionally think of as historical documents, they can serve as a platform for voicing issues important to individuals in our community,” said Amy Rushing, head of UTSA Libraries Special Collections.
The donated materials will be permanently preserved in a secure, climate-controlled facility alongside Special Collections’ growing archives on San Antonio activism. The collection will be available for viewing in the Special Collections Reading Room, located on the 4th floor of the John Peace Library. In the future, the collection will be digitized and made available online.
The UTSA Libraries Special Collections brings national recognition to the university for distinctive research materials documenting the diverse histories and development of San Antonio and South Texas. Collecting priorities include the history of the Mexican American, African American and LGBTQ communities in our region, the history of women and gender in Texas, activism, the Tex-Mex food industry, and urban planning.
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Submission Guidelines
To submit an item, write your name and email (optional, otherwise put “Anonymous” in lieu of name), location and date of the march attended, date of donation and “For UTSA Special Collections” on the back of the sign.
Items can be dropped off between now and March 5 at any of the following locations and times:
Monday-Friday (9 a.m. - 7 p.m.)
UTSA Main Campus John Peace Library
Information Desk
One UTSA Circle
San Antonio, TX 78249
(210) 458-4573
Saturdays (9 a.m. - 6 p.m.)
Sundays (1 p.m. - 6 p.m.)
UTSA Downtown Campus Library
Buena Vista Street Building
501 W. César E. Chávez Blvd.
San Antonio, TX 78207
(210) 458-2440
Fridays only (9 a.m. - 5 p.m.)
Representative Diego Bernal’s District Office
126 W. Rector St., Suite 114
San Antonio, TX 78216
(210) 308-9700
Saturday, Feb. 4 (6 p.m. - 8 p.m.)
Friendly Spot Ice House
943 S Alamo St
San Antonio, TX 78205
For more information, or to make special arrangements for posters to be picked up or dropped off, contact Amy Rushing, head of Special Collections.
Because of the difficulties in administering copyright for multiple donations, UTSA Special Collections requests that, when relevant, donated materials are relinquished of copyright. In doing so, this allows Special Collections the ability to collect, preserve, reproduce and distribute archives, and permits others to do the same.