The Archives houses hundreds of manuscript collections, totaling well over eight million leaves of manuscript materials, such as journals, notes, receipt logs, unpublished drafts, and correspondence. These range from singular items to thousands of folders per collection.

Most of the Archives’ more frequently requested items come from photographic collections, consisting of over 50,000 photographs of West Texas and its people.

The Archives houses over 500 maps, plans, posters, and broadsides associated with regional (mostly tri-county area) places, events, and buildings.

One of the jewels of the Archives is the extensive oral history collection, consisting of hundreds of interviews with key figures from across the region.

The SRSU Library & Archives has consistently collected all published periodicals for the tri-county area for over a century, as well as some periodicals from further in our region. Issues older than 20 years are viewable via microfilm or, in some cases, online. Newer issues can be viewed via microfilm or in the Archives Reading Room.

The Archives’ microfilm collections include hundreds of reels of federal military and census records dating back to the 19^th century, as well as all microfilmed records from Fort Davis National Historic Site.

The only part of the Archives that is organized by subject is the collection of research files (or Archival Vertical Files). These often consist of duplicates, secondary sources, and notes associated with regional subjects. They are a great place to start for researchers uncertain of where to begin or trying to narrow down their field of interest.

Thousands of items have been digitized over the years and are safely stored for digital surrogacy and accessibility. The Archives also houses born-digital materials and digital reproductions gifted or loaned for research accessibility. Digital Collections are currently powered by OCLC ContentDM and accessible to the public at digitalcollections.sulross.edu .

In addition to archival holdings, the Archives has a small (~6,700 items) non-circulating research library of monographs and books related exclusively to the scope of the Archives, including the Big Bend and Trans-Pecos region and/or subjects directly or uniquely associated with the region.

Files documenting the history of the institution and campus, faculty and staff, outstanding students and alumni, clubs and organizations, sports, the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association, Executive Committee minutes and academic departments make up the Sul Ross State University Archive. Formats include photographs and films, newsletters, and a variety of printed material and ephemera. Publications include the University newspaper The Skyline, yearbook The Brand, The Rossonian, El Ganadero, and others. The News and Publications Photograph Archive documents the campus, activities, students, and faculty from 1972-2006.