Notable Collections

The Peggy Kokernot Kaplan 1977 National Women’s Conference Collection
Peggy Kokernot Kaplan was one of the original torch relay runners to run the last mile during the 1977 National Women’s Conference in Houston and who was featured on the cover of Time Magazine. The collection contains, photographs, conference ephemera, news clippings, and letters documenting her involvement during the conference.

New Music America Records
In 1986, Houston hosted the New Music America festival that connected local audiences to 20th century compositions and creations, a seminal event for local and national new music creators and performers. The New Music America Records at UH Libraries document the Houston festival and scene as well as the event’s national significance.

Lawndale Art and Performance Center Records
Begun as a gallery space for the UH Department of Art graduate students, the Lawndale Art and Performance Center has a long history supporting and presenting national and local visual and performance artists well-documented in its nearly 50 linear feet of historic archives.

William Sherrill Papers
UH alumnus Bill Sherrill was a World War II veteran and president of his class at the university. He earned an MBA from Harvard and went on to be Executive Vice President of real estate development firm Jamaica Corp., served on the Board of directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, all the while remaining engaged with UH where he founded the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Nicolás Kanellos Hispanic Theater Collection
Noted UH historian Nicolás Kanellos amassed some 150 posters, photographs, and playbills documenting the origins and renaissance of contemporary Latino theatre, literature, poetry, and scholarship.