Fall is an auspicious time at Tulane University Special Collections. We welcome a new crop of students to our campus, and we are excited to show them how our services and collections can enhance their academic experience. We invite our campus community into our spaces for our annual exhibition opening, sharing how our resources can advance a scholar’s research ambitions through creative expression. And every October, we join our colleagues across the country in celebrating American Archives Month, recognizing the archivist’s role to preserve cultural memory and make it discoverable for all.  

Our newest exhibition, on display now through May 2027, follows the intertwining development of print and the built environment over the last five centuries. We were thrilled to see the vision of our guest curator, Tulane graduate student Maryluna Santos Giraldo, come to life in our gallery. Offering scholars like Maryluna the opportunity to develop full-scale exhibitions directly aligns with TUSC’s mission to invite “critical inquiry, creativity, interdisciplinary conversation, and communal discovery.” We can’t wait for you to see it! 

From our annual Haunted Open House to our very popular pop-up showcase We Have That?!, there are many opportunities for you to see our collections up close this fall. And if you want a firsthand perspective on what it’s like to dive deep into research in our reading room, we asked graduate scholar Andrew Cerise to share with you his experience working with our political collections over a four-year span for this edition of our newsletter. Andrew is just one of many scholars, community members, educators, and learners who use our collections every day to broaden their understanding of our shared cultural memory. 

If you can’t visit us in person, there are many other ways to engage with our services and our collections. TUSC archivists and librarians are here to answer your questions and support and enhance your research and teaching. We are also here to learn from you and your experiences. We welcome knowledge seekers of all kinds to reach out to find out more about our staff, collections, and services. You can make an appointment via our website at https://library.tulane.edu/tusc, email us at specialcollections@tulane.edu, and follow us at facebook.com/ TUSpecialCollections and Instagram @tuspeccoll. 

Jillian Cuellar 

Director, Tulane University Special Collections