What We Do

Role and Mission Statement

The University Archives and Special Collections Department (UASC) is part of the University of Texas at Tyler's Robert R. Muntz Library and fully supports the mission and goals of both parent institutions (The University of Texas at Tyler and the Robert R. Muntz Library). In addition, the University Archives and Department of Special Collections has distinct functions which drives the UASC's overall goals:

• To document and preserve the teaching, research, community service, and administrative functions of the University
• To document and preserve student life and activities of the University
• To develop and maintain documentation on local history, including Tyler and Smith County
• To provide research assistance and accessibility of materials to students, faculty, staff, and outside researchers
• To ensure longevity of the records and collections at the University Archives and Special Collections
• To assist departments, faculty, and staff in managing records with enduring value

Donate or Transfer Items

University Archives
Procedures are currently being created to provide for transfer of items from University Departments to the University Archives. Departments or entities wishing to transfer materials should contact the University Archives and Special Collections Librarian for assistance at 903-565-5849 or archivist@uttyler.edu.

Special Collections
The University Archives and Special Collections Department may acquire by gift, bequest, loan, trade or purchase any record, regardless of physical form or characteristic, which has any bearing on the history of Tyler, Smith County, and the region of East Texas through negotiation with the persons giving, lending or selling the records. The final decision to acquire materials for the UASC will be held by the University Archivist, and all donors of manuscripts and bibliographic materials will be asked to sign a deed of gift. In certain cases, the Department of Special Collections may also collect books and artifacts deemed "rare" in cases of gifts or bequests.

Notwithstanding intrinsic or informational values of special collections materials, acquisition of such items will take account of the authorized acquisition mandates of other archival institutions and special collections repositories, resources required to make the material available for research purposes in a reasonable period of time, the extent and terms of any restrictions, the legal rights of the donor to place the records in the UASC, their relationship to the strengths and weaknesses in the existing holdings, and/or the availability of appropriate storage facilities and the physical condition of the records in relation to the probability of being able to conserve them for a reasonable period of time.

Persons wishing to donate materials to Special Collections at the The University of Texas at Tyler's University Archives and Special Collections Department should contact the University Archivist at 903-565-5849 or archivist@uttyler.edu.

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Submission

Rights Management and Access Information
When a researcher publishes scholarly information, such as a thesis or dissertation, the researcher must understand the implications of copyright and how copyright laws effect access to this work. By not understanding these rights, you may mistakenly prohibit access to your work. Below are examples of rights authors should consider before signing any contracts with publishers:

• The right to make reproductions for teaching purposes, scholarship, or research
• The right to borrow and/or publish portions of your thesis/dissertation in future work
• The right to display the work (i.e., link to full-text on resumes, cover letter, personal website)
• The right to archive and preserve your thesis/dissertation in an institutional repository

Institutional Repository and Open Access
The UT Tyler Institutional Repository is a university affiliated online resource that collects, preserves, and provides open access to digital theses and dissertations. The Institutional Repository also provides an outlet for digital submission that retains all of your author rights. In submitting your thesis/dissertation, you allow your work to be accessible online, to the widest range of scholars at no cost to you or other researchers. You can still choose to distribute your work with another publisher, but you must safeguard your right to have the thesis/dissertation also be available in an open access repository.

All theses and dissertations created at The University of Texas at Tyler are electronically submitted to the Robert R. Muntz Library’s Institutional Repository. For information on how to submit your work, please see http://www2.uttyler.edu/graduate/students/thesis_dissertation.php