Hello! Welcome to the CSWR Resource Guide. This libguide will help you get acquainted with the wide variety of resources available at the Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections, part of the the College of Library and Learning Sciences at UNM.
Are you a new researcher, just getting started on a big project but unsure what to do? Or maybe you're an old hand at archival research, but want to get the lay of the land and learn about our resources before diving in. Either way, this guide can help!
To start, take a look at the tabs below. Each one will identify a resource and give basic information about its scope and use. Each tab also contains a link to the resource it covers. For more detailed information about any of the resources, users can select from the CSWR Resources in Depth menu on the left-hand sidebar.
After getting acquainted with the different resources (and their acronyms!) users might find it helpful to look through CSWR Examples and Tips page. This page builds on the material in each of the Resources in Depth pages. The CSWR Collection Identifiers page goes into detail about how CSWR materials are organized, and will help clear up confusion about what all those weird strings of letters and numbers mean!
Are you brand new to archival research? On the Archival Research Introduction you will learn about how archives work, what kinds of materials you might find in archives, and what to expect when you visit the CSWR. The Archives and Libraries page will also be useful to budding researchers. While library and archival collections both play important roles in conducting research, they collect different kinds of materials and operate along different lines.
New Mexico Archives Online (NMAO) serves as an access point for 19 different archival collections across the state of New Mexico, including the CSWR's collections housed in Zimmerman Library at the University of New Mexico's main campus in Albuquerque.
NMAO users can search for items in one or more repositories by keyword, name, date, kind of object, and in other ways. In some cases, finding guide information will contain links to other archival collections or to digitized content available on New Mexico Digital Collections (NMDC). The NMAO search function only searches the finding aids for archival materials - books in the CSWR collection will not show up in searches through NMAO.
Note: since NMAO searches several repositories across the state, users should be aware of which repository houses materials they find and would like to consult. Note also that different repositories and institutions have different hours of operation and procedures for using materials.
NOTE: the chart below assumes that the user has filtered NMAO results to only include collections held by CSWR.
| New Mexico Archives Online (NMAO) | |
| What does if find? |
Archival collections at the CSWR. |
| What information does it provide? | Finding aids on NMAO provide information like the repository where the collection is held (the CSWR, in this case), the unique identifier for the collection (for example MSS-123-BC), and other information about the collection including content, dates of the materials, languages in which the materials are written, restrictions to access, and how the collection is organized. |
| What does NMAO not find? | Searches on NMAO will not find books, DVDs, periodicals, and other materials that are in the Zimmerman library collection. NMAO will also not find books, DVDs, etc. that are part of the CSWR collections, but not assigned a manuscript identifier (MSS, PICT, UNMA, SWA, etc. - click here for more information on these acronyms.) |
| How to consult items found through this resource? | CSWR collections are available to be consulted in the Anderson Reading Room in the West wing of Zimmerman Library. Click here for hours and more information. In some cases parts of archival collections held at CSWR have been digitized and made available on New Mexico Digital Collections (NMDC). For more information, click on the NMDC tab above. |
New Mexico Digital Collections serves as an access point for digitized collections - mostly photos, maps, posters, and other visual materials - housed in several different repositories across the state of New Mexico.
NMDC is accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. However, users should note that permissions to download high-quality images from the resource require UNM affiliation (logging in with net ID) or access from a computer on campus.
| New Mexico Digital Collections | |
| What does if find? |
Digitized objects from collections in repositories across New Mexico, including the CSWR. Most of the time NMDC makes parts of a collection available online, not the entire thing. |
| What information does it provide? | Objects available on NMDC are each described individually. Information includes: title, creator, subject headings, description (including in some cases information about the physical object), date digitized, format, and other relevant information about the object. Item descriptions in NMDC also often have links to the NMAO finding aid page for that collection |
| What does NMDC not find? | Searches on NMDC will not find books, DVDs, periodicals, or pictorial or manuscript collections that do not have any of their components digitized. For example, if some of the objects in pictorial collection PICT-2999-001 have been digitized and made available on NMDC, they could be found by searching for the collection identifier, names, or keywords relevant to that collection. The items available on NMDC would then include links to the NMAO full finding aid page for the collection. However: if a pictorial collection does not have any of its components digitized, NMDC will not find that pictorial collection. For example, if PICT-3000-007 has been made available to researchers but remains unprocessed and undigitized, the physical objects themselves will be available for perusal at the CSWR, but the collection will not show up in NMDC search results. |
| How to consult items found through this resource? |
NMDC resources are accessible from anywhere with an internet connection. However, users can only download high-quality versions of images from on campus at UNM, or after logging in with UNM credentials. In most cases items available on NMDC will include links to their respective NMAO finding aids. NOTE: In most cases NMDC does not make all of the objects in a particular collection available to online patrons. Rather, NMDC will make available representative parts of a collection, with the rest available to consult in-person at the CSWR. |
From the Digital Repository homepage:
UNM’s Digital Repository is an open access institutional repository created to preserve, gather and disseminate scholarship, research and cultural works created by UNM faculty, staff and students within UNM departments, centers and programs. The repository supports teaching and lifelong learning within the UNM campus and broader New Mexico community by making deposited materials permanently and freely accessible.
These materials include theses and dissertations as well as other publications and material relevant to UNM itself, including open access journal articles and materials produced by and related to different departments within the university. Users can read and download materials from anywhere with an internet connection and also subscribe to an RSS feed or email alerts to notify them when new material is published.
Important: users must upload their materials to the digital repository in order for those materials to show up in searches. Theses and dissertations are uploaded by their writers as a matter of course when completing their degree requirements, but other materials may not be available if their creators do not upload them. For example, the digital repository does not have a specific section for the UNM philosophy department. This does not mean that the faculty in the philosophy department have never published anything (far from it!). Rather, this simply means that these materials have not been uploaded yet.
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UNM Digital Repository |
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| What does if find? |
Scholarship, research, and cultural works created by staff, faculty, and students at UNM that have been uploaded to the repository. This process is not automatic. The digital repository collects scholarship from departments and colleges across the UNM system. Note: the digital repository also collects parts of the UNM university archives and provides direct access here. |
| What information does it provide? |
The digital repository provides scholarship - including theses and dissertations - as well as other scholarly materials. When users find items of interest, the repository will display relevant bibliographic data as well as links to download materials, share them on social media, etc. |
| What does the UNM digital repository not find? | The UNM digital repository does not search all of the CSWR's collections, or the entire UNM library catalog. The digital repository only finds items that have been uploaded to it. |
| How to consult items found through this resource? |
Users can peruse the digital repository from anywhere with an internet connection. |
The University of New Mexico main campus includes three library locations: the largest is the Zimmerman Library, just North East of the Duck Pond on the main campus. Also on the main campus visitors will find the Centennial Mathematics and Engineering Library, as well as the Fine Arts and Design Library in George Pearl Hall. UNM branch campuses across New Mexico also have their own library collections.
The online library catalog allows users to search through all of the UNM's libraries from anywhere with an internet connection, although results will be limited for users consulting the catalog from off campus or without an affiliation to UNM. When browsing results, patrons should make sure to identify the location of the materials, especially physical books.
| UNM University Libraries Catalog | |
| What does if find? |
Any object or item listed as part of the UNM library catalog. This includes books (including ebooks), periodicals, audiovisual media, items available on microfilm, archival collections at the CSWR and UNM Archives, etc. Basically, the library catalog search will find any item that belongs to or is managed by any branch of the UNM University Libraries. |
| What information does it provide? |
The library catalog will provide different kinds of information about different items. For example, if the object is a physical book, the catalog will give its location and call number, title, author, and publication information as well as subject headings that have been applied to the book, a physical description including number of pages, genre, ISBN, etc. Other objects will include similar information. In the case of digital objects, the catalogue will provide links to locations outside the catalogue. Note: Searching the library catalog will find collections housed at the CSWR and list their location and availability, including the collection identifier, subjects, and abstracts and notes. However, the library catalog listing of CSWR collections will not include a breakdown of the contents of boxes and folders. For that information patrons need to consult the relevant NMAO finding aid for the collection. |
| What does the university catalog not find? | Searching the library catalog will find pretty much everything. However, specialized information - like box and folder inventory for CSWR collections - will not be available on catalog results. |
| How to consult items found through this resource? |
The UNM University Libraries homepage offers a general catalog search as well as advanced search functions for books, journals, research guides, etc. The homepage also lists hours of operation, events, and other information including contact information for subject librarians. Many of the materials that the catalog lists will be available in some form online, including journal articles and ebooks. Access to these materials, as well as access to full search results, requires logging in to the library system with UNM credentials, or accessing the library catalog from on site at UNM. |
The CSWR Vertical Files include selected newspaper and magazine clippings, brochures, fliers, maps, and other paper ephemera on a variety of New Mexico topics. The vertical files might be a good place to start for researchers interested in broad overviews on New Mexico topics.
Patrons can peruse the list of topics in the CSWR Vertical Files by following the link above. Alternatively users can search the vertical files for keywords using the search function at this link: https://library.unm.edu/cswr/index.php. The Vertical Files search function also allows patrons to request that materials be pulled and made available in the reading room.
NOTE: Vertical files are described to the folder level. This means that archivists or archival staff know, for example, that a folder exists labeled "Adams, Ansel - photographer,." Staff do not, however, know what the contents of that folder consist of. Note as well that the vertical files are not digitized. They are only available in person in the CSWR's Anderson Reading Room. For patrons unable to visit the reading room and interested in vertical files, CSWR staff provide limited scanning services of materials. For fee schedule and more information, contact CSWR staff.
| UNM CSWR Vertical Files | |
| What does if find? |
The CSWR vertical files consist of published and unpublished material collected over a number of years on topics relevant to New Mexico and UNM. These files include newspaper clippings, maps, magazine articles, etc. collected and filed by CSWR staff. These resources are organized by name, topic, location, and other subheadings, but they are not exhaustive. |
| What information does it provide? |
The vertical files search tool allows patrons to search for subjects, names, and topics in the vertical files. |
| What does the vertical files search function not find? | The vertical files search only shows results for the vertical files collection. It will not find items in any other resource. Note also that the vertical files search only shows the titles of folders as results. To learn what exactly is in each folder will require consulting the materials themselves. |
| How to consult items found through this resource? |
Vertical file materials can be consulted during the Anderson Reading Room's operating hours. Patrons will fill out a paging request slip specific to the vertical files collection and CSWR staff will retrieve the requested folders. For patrons unable to visit the CSWR in person, staff may be able to arrange for scanning the contents of individual folders in the vertical files collection. For more information, including a schedule of fees, contact CSWR staff. |
