Library Special Collections
TSU Library Special Collections – Preserving History & Culture
Located on the second floor of the TSU Library Learning Center, the Department of Special Collections safeguards rare and valuable materials that require special care and handling. This department houses the Traditional African Art Gallery, the Charles F. Heartman Collection, and the official records of Texas Southern University, alongside several manuscript collections. The largest and most significant of these is the Congresswoman Barbara Jordan Archives, preserving her legacy and impact.
Traditional African Art Gallery – Preserving Cultural Heritage at TSU
The Traditional African Art Gallery at Texas Southern University (TSU) showcases a rich collection of African art, fostering cultural sensitivity and artistic appreciation. Established by Dr. John Biggers in 1949, this gallery was created to support student development in African art traditions.
During the 1970s, S.W. Mothershed, then University Library Director, expanded TSU’s collection, securing funds for acquisitions and spearheading the creation of the Central Library African Art Gallery, which now houses 247 pieces of traditional African art from West, Central, and East Africa. As one of the few collections at historically Black colleges and universities, TSU’s gallery remains a vital educational and cultural resource.
Heartman Collection – Preserving African American History & Culture
The Heartman Collection at Texas Southern University (TSU) is one of the largest African American collections in the Southwest, featuring over 22,000 volumes, including books, pamphlets, slave narratives, journals, musical scores, and historical documents. Originally acquired from Charles Frederick Heartman, a renowned antiquarian book dealer, in 1948, this collection reflects his legacy in Afro-Americana scholarship.
TSU’s Department of Special Collections continues to expand the archive, curating culturally, politically, and socially significant works that preserve and interpret the African American experience. This invaluable resource provides unparalleled insights into Black history, heritage, and contributions in the United States and beyond.
Archives
Houston League of Business and Professional Women
The official Records of the organization including reports, histories, bylaws, programs, videotapes and photographs.
Texas Southern University Archives
Dr. Charles Law was appointed as University Archivist in 1977. At that time, he published the first bibliography of university documents. In 1979, Dr. Law developed a proposal for the establishment of a University Archives at Texas Southern University. Since that time, the archives in the library has housed the official records of Texas Southern University. The records include board meeting minutes, presidential papers, yearbooks, dissertations, photographs and other documents related to the history and development of the institution.
NEW Special Collections is now included in the Texas Historical Commission's new mobile app! The app features virtual tours of many different historical sites around Texas. Click here to go to the app.
Manuscript Collections
African American Commemorative Coin Collection
This is a collection of 11 African American commemorative coins, purchased by the
Robert J. Terry Library from a private collector ca. 2009. The coins feature notable
African American figures and events in African American history, including Booker
T. Washington, Rosa Parks, Duke Ellington, and George Washington Carver. Numismatics
is the scientific analysis and study of money and the uses to which people have put
money throughout history. Coin collectors use the word "numismatics" when speaking
specifically of the study of coins. A wider and more correct definition includes the
study and collecting of all money-related items such as banknotes, tokens, medals,
bullion rounds, etc. The study of coins can be useful to historians as they can provide
historical, social, political and economical context for civilizations, cultures,
or specific persons or events.
Nelson Mandela Historical Newspapers Collection
This is a collection of twenty-one South African and other international newspapers published in 2012-2014 that cover the reaction to Mandela's illnesses and death in the South African news media.
Thomas Meloncon Papers
This is a collection of papers belonging to Texas Southern University professor and
playwright Thomas Meloncon (1948-).
Materials include play scripts, press clippings, programs, and a biographical sketch.
*Featured Item*
This is a war ration book from World War II, ca. 1943.It belonged to Elizabeth B. Robertson
and was donated to Special Collections in 2008.
During World War II, food was in short supply because much of the processed and canned foods America produced was shipped overseas to our military and Allied troops.It was also difficult to get fresh foods like milk, vegetables and meat due to gasoline and tire rationing; transportation of soldiers and war supplies was prioritized, and imported foods, like coffee and sugar, were hard to come by due to restrictions on importing.
The U.S. government’s Office of Price Administration established a ration system of rationing that would more fairly distribute foods that were in short supply.During the war every American was issued ration books periodically that contained removable stamps.The stamps were designated for certain rationed items, like canned goods, coffee, meats, sugar, and the like.Shoppers couldn't buy items that were restricted without also giving the grocer the corresponding ration stamp.Once a shopper's ration stamps were used up for a month, that person couldn’t buy any more of that item.Most food shopping during this era was done by women, so wives and mothers were usually the caretakers of a household's ration books; rationing meant careful meal planning and wasting as little food as possible.
Policies and Services
The materials in the Department of Special Collections may not be borrowed through Interlibrary Loan or to circulate. Researchers or individuals who would like to use the collections are encouraged to do the following:
The Special Collections
Please fill out the Special Collections Researcher Registration Form to use materials or photographs from the archival collections.
Hours of Service
The archival collections are opened by appointment, Monday-Friday 8am-5pm. The Heartman Collection is open Monday-Friday, 8:00am-5pm, and is closed on Saturdays and Sundays. Visitors are required to have a valid school ID or driver's license to gain access to the materials.
Donating Papers
The mission of the Special Collections unit is to acquire, preserve and make available materials of individuals and of non-profit and community-based organizations that document the contributions made by African Americans to Houston history. Collections focus on alumni, faculty, administrators or staff from Texas Southern University or individuals or organization from surrounding communities.
Contact Us
Sarah Haiying Li, Associate Director of Special Collections and Institutional Repository, (713) 313-7169, Haiying.li@tsu.edu
Shirley Demerson, Library Assistant for University Archives, (713) 313-4422, Shirley.Demerson@tsu.edu