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KUHT’s Progressive Programming Now Available Online

Department News, Digitization, Exhibits, KUHT Collection, University Archives

Almanac hosts Betty Ann Bowser and J. D. Houston.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services generously funds a “grants to state program,” which uses a population-based formula to distribute funds to State Library Administrative Agencies across the country. In Texas, these funds are distributed via several different types of competitive grants, including TexTreasures, which is designed to help libraries make their special collections more accessible for the people of Texas and beyond.

University of Houston Special Collections is pleased to announce the online publication of over 500 recently digitized videos from the KUHT Collection. These videos, accessible via the newly unveiled UHL AV Repository, were digitized with funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ TexTreasures grant, administered by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Included in the project are several significant series and documentaries produced by KUHT between 1971 – 2000. One series, Almanac, tackled some of the major political and social issues facing Houston in the 1990s, including complex questions of race, gender, and economic inequality. Episodes such as those that cover the Harris County Grand Jury decision not to indict a Houston Police Department officer in the shooting of Byron Gillum and a discussion of the ban on homosexuals serving in the military exemplify the program’s willingness to pursue tough issues.  Notable figures, such as Mayor Sylvester Turner, made several appearances on the program early in his political career, and even President Jimmy Carter appears alongside Dominique de Menil to discuss the Carter-Menil Human Rights Prize.

All materials digitized were previously inaccessible due to their obsolete video formats, such as this U-matic video.

Another significant series, The Capitol Report, features interviews with Texas legislators discussing issues that remain of great importance today. Representation, prison reform, and education are just a few of the topics that are covered, and many guests will be familiar to those who follow Texas politics today.

Several noteworthy documentaries and feature programs were also digitized under the TexTreasures grant, such as Houston in the Age of AIDs (1985) and Wetlands (1991).

In addition to full episodes available on the AV Repository, an online exhibit created by graduate student Carolann Madden contextualizes the many series featured online: http://exhibits.lib.uh.edu/exhibits/show/kuht-textreasures, and includes contemporary documents from the KUHT Collection.

The KUHT series The Writer in Society featured guests such as Maya Angelou. https://av.lib.uh.edu/media_objects/gt54kn02m

Zine Fest Houston Records

Department News, Miscellaneous Manuscript Collections

University of Houston is excited to announce its procurement of the Zine Fest Houston Records! Consisting primarily of zines (self-published, small circulation, non-commercial booklets or magazines), ephemera, and print items, the collection documents zine culture in Gulf Coast region and throughout the country. Materials in the collection range from the 1980s to present, and focus on a range of topics, including art, feminism, LGBTQ issues, Latina/o’s, and humor.

Half Black, Half Blacker by Sterling Plumpp (Zine Fest Houston Records)

Half Black, Half Blacker by Sterling Plumpp (Zine Fest Houston Records)

Curator and archivist for the collection, Lisa Cruces, states, “I’m thrilled to have the ZFH records finally here! Because of their format and the perception of being disposable, zines and other smaller publications are often overlooked, but in my opinion they are valuable snapshots of communities.”

Acquired from zinester, Shane Patrick Boyle, and Zine Fest Houston organizers, Maria-Elisa Heg, Stacy Kirages, and Sarah Welch, the collection is the result of their personal collecting, as well as contributions from the annual Zine Fest Houston event. Usually held in the fall, Zine Fest is a grassroots event dedicated to promoting zines, mini-comics, and other forms of small press, alternative, underground, DIY media, and art. More information on the festival and related events can be found here at the Zine Fest Houston website.

(Zine Fest Houston Records, University of Houston Special Collections)

(Zine Fest Houston Records, University of Houston Special Collections)

Currently 10 linear feet in size, the Zine Fest Houston Records will continue to grow. “We agreed to donate the Zine Fest Houston Archive to University of Houston because we wanted to share and celebrate the history of the organization and the zines that have been produced by the artists, creators, and activists of South Texas from the early 1990s through today with the entire Houston community, and students, visiting scholars and professors at the University. The University of Houston is also a good fit in terms of location and archive storage facilities. We couldn’t be happier with the partnership that has formed and look forward to adding to the collection throughout the years,” state Heg, Kirages, and Welch.

The Zine Fest Houston Records are currently being processed but open to researchers. For more information, contact Lisa Cruces, ecruces@uh.edu.