Alkek Library, Texas State University

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Alkek Library, Texas State University

Campus library of Texas State University. Fortress of knowledge. Defender of Truth. Voyager of fearless inquiry. Follow us on Instagram!

05/07/2026

Archive Alert 🔔 Special Collections & Archives staff members Jason Crouch and Meghan Willoughby are working with the archives of world-renowned jazz musician and former Texas State University faculty member Butch Miles.

The collection, which includes drum kits, photographs and personal materials is expected to be available to researchers once this work is completed in the fall of 2026. Learn more: https://www.library.txst.edu/about/library-news/news-blog/butch-miles-collection.html

02/26/2026

Forty years ago this week, the student body learned through University Star that a massive new library would soon rise at the heart of the San Marcos campus.

Look closely. This isn’t a photograph of the Albert B. Alkek Library, but an artist’s rendering of the vision that would open its doors in the summer of 1990. 🚪❤️

Check out the construction collection here: https://guides.library.txstate.edu/univhistory/Alkek25-Construction

02/03/2026

We're excited to join Texas State University - School of Music in celebrating the life of the legendary Butch Miles at the Second Annual Butch Miles Jazz Fest! All Bobcats are welcome to come this Saturday, Feb. 7 at 6 p.m.

Butch Miles was an internationally renowned jazz drummer and professor at Texas State. In summer 2024, his widow, Linda Benjiman-Miles, donated Butch’s vintage Ludwig Drums and a vast collection of materials from his career to Alkek Library’s Special Collections & Archives.

To celebrate his legacy, team members from Special Collections & Archives have curated a special exhibit featuring highlights from Butch's life, on display in the lobby of the historic Evans Auditorium. Be sure to check it out!

01/29/2026

😉Look what we found!

12/22/2025

Wishing you warmth and joyful memories this season from Texas State University Libraries!

12/15/2025

75 years ago today, December 15, 1950, local children gathered to welcome Santa Claus to the San Marcos Square.

Many of the historic buildings remain as does the Texas-style “winter” weather; note the short sleeves and lack of jackets! This image is from the San Marcos Daily Record Photographic Negatives collection found here: https://dc.library.txstate.edu/node/16281

11/27/2025

San Marcos has always enjoyed a great blend of rural and urban life, but a turkey in your backyard? This 1959 photograph is found in the San Marcos Daily Record Photographic Negatives collection curated by the Alkek Library. Happy Thanksgiving to all Bobcats! Have a safe and restful break before the semester ends in December!!

11/20/2025

On a recent afternoon, alum Allan Hogan stopped by the Special Collections & Archives office looking for images from his time at the then SWT University. Hogan was a busy man on campus serving in cheer squad, ROTC, and as a Gaillardian.

After graduation in 1971 he served a long career in the US Air Force. He shared that his years in San Marcos were some of his most enjoyable. He even found himself in an image from a recent exhibition.

10/13/2025

40 years ago today, Whitney Houston performed her first headlining concert in Texas at Strahan Arena on the campus of Southwest Texas State University in San Marcos. Photographs from that performance and the backstage meet-and-greet event have been discovered and shared online via the Special Collections and Archives team at the Alkek Library. Recently, two former Bobcats who attended the concert and are featured in our backstage photo with Whitney, Arlene Pace and Vicky Coffee, visited campus to recollect their years at college and their brush with greatness. Here is the link to their conversation with our own Jason Crouch: https://youtu.be/OC55Mqedj_g

08/04/2025

No sooner did our archives team discover these great images of international music icon Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez then we learned of his passing last week. Flaco took Texas-born, Spanish-language musical idioms around the globe, but still made time for hundreds of local performances such as this stop on campus on October 25, 1991. Students and faculty gathered right in front of the Den found between the two Academic Services Buildings for a Friday afternoon gig." RIP to a Texas treasure.

Address

601 University Drive
San Marcos, TX
78666

Website

https://www.library.txst.edu/

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