Cover to Cover now available
Read the full text of Cover to Cover’s Spring 2026 issue below, or click through to view the PDF 
from the News Posts, Newsletters, & Reports page of our website.
Letter from the Director
Finally, finals have ended, and Commencement is in sight! Congratulations to all of our spring graduates and the faculty and staff who helped them get there.
This spring, we launched a yearlong celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Archives of the Big Bend with a timely, moving presentation by Joe Burgess of his recently published book. Burgess’ Big Bend Through the Lens of Glenn Burgess: A Photo Journey in Mid-Century West Texas chronicles the life and legacy of Glenn Burgess and Joe’s experience growing up in this region. A companion exhibit of Glenn Burgess’ photographs, cameras, and ephemera from the early days of Big Bend National Park will continue to be displayed until November, so make plans for your students to catch it in early Fall.
On a Sunday afternoon later in March, we co-hosted Alpine’s first Archives Roadshow with Historic Alpine. The event was filled with community members sharing their archival records, stories, and memories with each other and with us. Thank you to the staff and volunteers who made the first Roadshow possible, especially Head of Archives Victoria Contreras, without whom we would not be celebrating. And there is definitely more to celebrate: We have all but officially announced that SRSU will host the 10th Annual Border Archives Bazaar (Here for the first time!) in October, just before Homecoming. Victoria is leading the charge on that planning with the Border Regional Archives Group, and we look forward to including repositories across campus in those events.
Project Director for the Title V DHSI DTM grant, Michelle Lacey, left us in April. We continue to strategize, building on the forward momentum from the DTM grant. All of our work centers on our collective mission to support the educational, research, and information needs of our communities.
Keep reading for more news from the Library and Archives in Alpine and Eagle Pass. If you are around Alpine this summer, stay tuned for the Archives’ 50th Anniversary Celebration, and you might just see some familiar Library and Archives faces at the Fourth of July Parade downtown.
Dispatch from Eagle Pass
-via Mike Fernandez, Head of Eagle Pass Library Services-
This spring, the Eagle Pass Library featured a Jane Austen at 250 display, marking the anniversary of one of the most beloved novelists in English literature. Hosted in collaboration with Assistant Professor of English Dr. Xinyan Qiu, the exhibit invited visitors to explore the world of Regency England and learn more about the historical context behind Austen’s novels. The display ran throughout the month of April and drew steady interest from students, staff, and faculty, includingthose who attended the opening reception.
We were also excited to host the First Annual Earth Day Clothing Swap here this semester as Alpine celebrated their Tenth Annual swap. Building on the success of the fall clothing swap, the Earth Day event gave students, staff, and faculty another opportunity to exchange gently used clothing and give items a second life. Thanks to everyone who participated!
Our physical collection in Eagle Pass continues to grow this semester, with new titles added to the shelves. We encourage you to stop by to see what is available and to explore the newer additions. And as always, InterLibrary Loan and Direct Mail remain reliable options for requesting physical materials from Alpine and beyond.
We also continued to pilot extended hours this semester, remaining open until 7 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We will keep reviewing how this service is being used and will adjust based on student needs and feedback.
Update: 250 for the 250th Project
-via Victoria Contreras, Head of Archives-
In the fall, the Archives of the Big Bend shared a questionnaire with the Sul Ross community in the hopes of learning what aspects of our local and regional history students, faculty, and staff were most interested in showcasing as part of the United States of America’s 250th Anniversary celebrations.
Thanks to the wonderful responses we received, we will select images from our vast historical photograph collections that best reflect Big Bend’s regional history. Keep an eye out for a follow-up email from the Archives of the Big Bend with the opportunity to vote for the image that will represent our community and region as part of the Society of American Archivists’ Semiquincentennial Celebration.
Research Help & Support Updates
In April, we introduced LibKey.io, a tool that connects users to available full-text articles. LibKey.io works by using article identifiers, such as DOIs (digital object identifiers) and PubMedIDs,tolinkyou to a PDF or online version of an article when it is available via SRSU Library and Archives subscription or Open Access. When full text is not immediately available, LibKey.io directs you to InterLibrary Loan to request a copy. To learn more and access LibKey.io, visit the Accounts & Apps page on our homepage. LibKey.io is also now embedded in all Research Guides.
Speaking of guides, we refreshed our Research Tips guide. The updated guide is designed to help all Library and Archives users get started with the research process, and offers practical guidance for finding and using our resources. Access the guide directly here or by visiting the SRSU Library & Archives Research Guides portal. Did you know? All of our Research Guides – and pages from the guides – can be added seamlessly to Blackboard courses. Contact us for assistance.
Noteworthy Staff Professional Development and Presentations
- Head of Archives Victoria Contreras attended the Society of Southwest Archivists’ 2026 Annual Meeting in Waco, Texas. While there, Victoria led a Meet and Greet session for Borderland repositories; Presented in two separate educational sessions featuring our collection of notebooks from The Desk; and moderated a roundtable presentation on “archival gaps” at Minority Serving Institutions. In May, she will attend the Christmas Mountains Research Symposium in Terlingua, Texas to report on the Archives of the Big Bend.
- Head of Eagle Pass Library Services Mike Fernandez was selected to attend the ACRL Information Literacy Immersion Program in Chicago, Illinois, this July. This program offers an immersive learning experience and opportunities to reflect on core teaching and learning issues in libraries.
- Library Assistant Al Gomez was honored with a 5-Year Safety and Service Award at the annual SRSU Safety, Service, and Retirement Awards Ceremony in April.
- Director Betsy Helesic is headed to the 18th Annual Texas Conference on Digital Libraries in Austin, Texas to present progress on the Alpine Restaurant Mapping Project, a digital humanities project partially funded by an SRSU Research Enhancement Grant.
- Coordinator Taylor Moore will attend the 41st Annual Conference of NASIG (North American Serials Interest Group) in Madison, Wisconsin. Following the conference, Taylor will publish a conference review in the “Serials Spoken Here” column for Serials Review.
- Library Student Assistant Cameran Ochoca, McNair and Noyce Scholar, presented a poster at the 9th Annual Student Symposium titled, “Exploring Innovation STEM Camp Influences on Middle School Student Attitudes Toward Science Careers.”
- Archival Student Assistant Racer Portillo received the Organizational Award for Men’s Cross Country and was recognized on the Fall 2025 Dean’s List.
- Archival Student Assistant Salisa Wellenreuther presented twice at the 9th Annual Student Symposium, reading excerpts from her own short story, “Friends Forever,” and offering an analysis of “The Making and Unmaking of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.” Salisa was also recognized on the Fall 2025 Dean’s List.
Faculty: Are you developing new courses, reworking syllabi, or planning to teach around fieldwork and travel? We are here to help!
Plan Your Summer and Fall with the Library and Archives:
- Workshops covering Information Literacy, Research Basics, Creative Commons, the Archives, InterLibrary Services, and Serials for all audiences
- Our workshop offerings can be translated into custom course sessions in-person or online!
- Orientation tours of our spaces in August and September
- Banned Books Week in September
- American Archives Month in October
- Border Regions Archives Bazaar in October (Alpine)
- Open Access Week in October
- Provost’s Display of Faculty Scholarship in October (Alpine and Eagle Pass)
- Clothing Swaps in October (Alpine and Eagle Pass)
- DeStress Fest in December (Alpine and Eagle Pass)
Congratulations to our Spring 2026 graduates, Library Student Assistant, Emily Garcia, graduating with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and Library Assistant in Eagle Pass, Gabriela Casarez, graduating with her Master’s in Business Administration.
Review of Our New Scanner
-via Al Gomez, Library Assistant-
The new overhead book scanner has provided much help for digitization in the Archives, especially in our event, the Archives Roadshow this March. When a community member showed up to the Roadshow with two very delicate scrapbooks, I knew I would have the opportunity to try out some of the new scanner’s features. One of the books was so difficult to handle it would have been impossible to safely scan it with a flatbed scanner. The new scanner has a V-glass plate that protects the binding, flattens the pages, and ensures a safe scan. For it being such a delicate item, it made the scanning process super smooth.
Print isn’t Dead!
Thanks to Borderlands Research Institute for their recent transfer of print periodicals to the SRSU Library and Archives, including Volumes 1 through 11 of the Journal of Wildlife Management, dating back to issue 1, published in 1937.
Bound Periodicals are shelved in alphabetical order by title on the second floor of the Bryan Wildenthal Memorial Library in Alpine. Access to print journal content is available via InterLibrary Loan and ScanIt services.
Online access to this journal can be found using QuickSearch’s Publication Finder tool here.
Annual SRSU Library Collection Development and Maintenance: Deadlines and Info
New Acquisitions and Annual Content Reviews and Renewals
- Physical books are typically acquired on fixed ordering dates, budget-permitting
- Regular order dates are October 1, December 1, March 1, May 1, July 1
- Regarding library-funded course readings (textbooks), order deadlines are as follows:
- October 1 for Spring Term
- March 1 for Summer Terms
- May 1 for Fall Term (Note! May 20 for FY26)
- Rush orders are considered; processing times vary.
- Our aim is to get material on the shelves as fast as possible.
- We are now accepting collection recommendations for the Eagle Pass location (D-129).
- Electronic content (eBooks, databases, etc.) is reviewed annually, typically acquired on a rolling basis, budget-permitting.
- Physical and Electronic Journal content is reviewed annually, typically acquired on a calendar-year basis (January to December) with a September renewal period, budget-permitting.
- Other formats and special-circulation items (such as calculators) are considered and acquired on a rolling basis, budget-permitting.
Donations
Donations are accepted at all times, but are reviewed for addition to the collections monthly by librarians. Processing times of donations vary based on a variety of factors. More information about giving to the Library and Archives is online at: library.sulross.edu/giving.
