UNK Archives and Special Collections

10/14/2026

Happy to all those who celebrate! UNK's archivists are standing by to answer YOUR burning archives questions (though only figurative burning, please).

10/13/2026

Sign up closes tomorrow (10/14), so let us know if you're able to take advantage of these awesome workshops. You can sign up at go.unk.edu/3xiy

ETA: WORKSHOPS ARE CANCELLED

Celebrate American Archives Month with the Calvin T. Ryan Library at Kearney Public Library!

Join UNK librarians and archivists on Saturday, October 17 for two free, hands-on workshops designed to help you organize, preserve, and share your collections.

Making Sense of Your Stuff
10:00–11:30 a.m.
Learn the basics of organizing and describing archival materials, whether you're working with a museum, historical society, or your own family treasures.

Easy Websites to Build Your Archive
1:00–2:30 p.m.
Explore easy, free or low-cost ways to create a website for sharing your archival collections. No web experience required!

Remember it's at the Kearney Public Library.
Attend one workshop or make a day of it and join us for both!
https://go.unk.edu/3xiy

10/01/2026

Today's the day! Join us for behind-the-scenes tours of the Archives and a look at some of our favorites. Tours at 10am and 6pm today (Oct. 1) and on Oct. 4 at 2pm. Meet us on the 2nd floor of the UNK Calvin T. Ryan Library. You're welcome to just show up but you can also sign up via the link on our events page. Here's the 10am tour link - https://www.facebook.com/events/28106386805723141 The sign-up link is the same no matter what time you choose.

09/28/2026

Happy Homecoming week, Lopers! Hope your Monday goes as smoothly as this banana boat sails.

Parade float from 1957. It's from the Donald Briggs Collection; you can see Briggs' editorial decisions with the "crop here" mark.
University of Nebraska at Kearney UNK Alumni Association

09/25/2026

Humanites Nebraska programs coming in October!

09/24/2026

We're throwing all the way back to 1860 for this week's . Helen Clark was part of a group traveling to Colorado, following the Platte River. She kept a diary the whole way. As you can read, she was unimpressed by Kearney.

This excerpt is from Two Diaries: the diary & journal of Calvin perry Clark who journeyed by wagon train from Plano, Illinois, to Denver & vicinity over the Santa Fe Trail in the year 1859. Together with the diary of his sister, Helen E. Clark who made a similar journey by the Northern Route in 1860, published by the Denver Public Library.

09/21/2026

Congratulations to the newest members of the UNK Athletic Hall of Fame! 💙💛

They will be inducted on Oct. 2 at a banquet at UNK. More information on these outstanding Lopers can be found at lopers.com and tickets for the banquet can be purchased at:
🎟️ https://unkalumni.org/homecoming/

09/15/2026

We love items with a strong perspective! A new addition to the collection, Notes from a New Afrikan P.O.W. Journal, features work by incarcerated people. This issue has an article written from a Nebraska prison. The author, identified as Shalimar B., writes on organizing and revolutionary violence. The annotations are also an interesting window on past owners.

Want to read the whole thing? Stop by the Archives on the second floor of the UNK Calvin T. Ryan Library or contact us for a digital copy.

09/07/2026

This , we're showing off our copy of Willa Cather's Death Comes to the Archbishop. The cover features some lovely marbling in browns and greens.

Our edition is one of 175 signed first editions on rag paper. Because rag paper isn't acidic like that used for newspapers and regular books, the book is likely to outlast every one of us.

Want to see this and our other Willa Cather books in person? Swing by UNK Archives & Special Collections on the 2nd floor of the UNK Calvin T. Ryan Library.

09/03/2026

With the start of the new school year, we hope all our students are settling into their rooms, learning lots, and finding time for fun, like these past students.

All images are from our More Old Photos and People, No Dates folders, so we don't have names or dates on these. We're guessing the gaming is from the 60s, with the others 1970s or 80s. Recognize someone? Let us know.
UNK Alumni Association