Libraries Celebrate Comics at BIPOC PoP

This March, five University of Texas Libraries staff members joined the vibrant and growing community of creators and scholars at the annual BIPOC PoP Symposium, an event that brings together writers, artists, gamers, students and academics to celebrate and build community around popular culture.

Sponsored by UT’s College of Liberal Arts and organized by staff from the campus’s own Latinx Pop Lab, BIPOC PoP offers UT Libraries a valuable opportunity to engage with creators and audiences whose work reflects the diversity of voices in contemporary storytelling. This year marked the second consecutive invitation for the Libraries to host a table in the exhibition hall.

Librarians Tina Tran, Gina Bastone, Adriana Cásarez, Yi Shan and Ana Rico shared a selection of graphic novels and comics from the Libraries’ collections – including paperback comics, zines, large-format art books, and young adult titles. These materials showcased the depth and variety of the Libraries’ long-standing commitment to collecting comics and graphic novels, particularly in the Perry-Castañeda Library’s popular and well-used collection.

Visitors expressed surprise and excitement upon learning about the comics collection at PCL, with many students vowing to stop by the library soon. Faculty members discussed potential class visits, underscoring the value of the collection as a teaching tool. A highlight of the event was meeting acclaimed comics creator John Jennings, who graciously signed the Libraries’ copy of After the Rain, which is now available in the collection (view in the catalog).

Libraries staff also made connections with local artists and small publishers, with an eye toward expanding the Libraries’ holdings of zines and independently produced comics in the near future.

As always, BIPOC PoP was a joyful celebration of creativity, community, and shared enthusiasm for the stories that shape our cultural landscape. TheLibraries is grateful to the Latinx Pop Lab and the Department of English for the invitation, and we look forward to returning next year.

Benson Collection Acquires Archive of Andrés Caicedo

By ADRIAN JOHNSON

The Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection is pleased to announce the acquisition of literary and family archives of Colombian writer Andrés Caicedo. This collection joins other important regional literary collections of writers such as César Vallejo, Augusto Roa Bastos, and Julio Cortázar, increasing the importance of the Benson as a destination for students, faculty, and researchers from the United States, Latin America, and beyond.

Front page of an open book. On the right, inside a black border, a drawing in black ink of a young man with 1970s-style hair, a large chin and pursed lips, and clothing, dark sunglasses, a chain brandished in one hand and a large, bloody knife in the other. He stands in front of a graffitied wall that has a large area of its outer coating missing. His thin legs, in jeans, are in a wide stance. The title of the book, El Atravesado, is written vertically bottom to top along the left-hand side of the border in rough, handwritten all capitals; the name of the author, Andrés Caicedo, is written in the same style along the right-hand side.
Title page of “El Atravesado.” Benson Latin American Collection.

Within a decade of the publication of 100 Years of Solitude, which propelled Gabriel García Márquez and Colombia to the forefront of the Latin American literary scene, a 21-year-old Caicedo was self-publishing his first novela. El Atravesado (1975) was printed with a stamp opposite the title page reading Pirata Ediciones de Calidad (Pirata Quality Editions). Adorning the cover is a Ramones-esque sketch that the author had copied and enhanced from a bootlegged Rolling Stones album cover: a sunglasses-clad rebellious youth in front of a deteriorating and graffitied wall, a chain in one hand and a bloody knife in the other, ready for a fight. The story is one of youth in street gangs who have lost all faith in adulthood, living in the chaos of urban disorder, brawls, and parties, who yearn for a better world.

Inside cover of a book, with author's name, title, and publisher's seal. There is messy handwriting all over the page. On the left, you can see the dark illustration of a man, similar to that of the cover, from the previous page bleeding through.
Inside cover of “El Atravesado,” with handwritten dedication and Ediciones Pirata seal. Benson Latin American Collection.

An intellectually curious lover of movies and letters, Caicedo began writing at the age of 10 and never stopped. He wrote plays, published stories in newspapers, and published Ojo al Cine, a film magazine that ran from 1974 to 1976. On March 4, 1977, at the age of 25, just after receiving the editor’s copy of his first published full-length novel, Que viva la música, Caicedo died by suicide. Que viva la música went on to become his best-known work, and would give voice to a generation of Colombia’s youth, offering a socially realistic alternative to the magical realism of García Márquez and other writers of the Latin American Boom.

A magazine cover features a very faded and large image of a woman's eyes, nose, and mouth—close-up of a face, in pale grays. The title of the magazine, "Ojo al Cine" is printed in bold black type, all lower-case, along the bottom, in addition to the number 5 in a circle. Along the borders of the cover are names of authors and other writing, including the magazine's subtitle, "La crítica cinematográfica en Cuba y América Latina."
Cover of issue 5 of the film criticism magazine “Ojo al Cine.” Benson Latin American Collection.

Caicedo already had a loyal following by the time of his death, but most of his writing was never published, or was limited to local and serial publications. His father, with whom he had fraught relations, discovered many of his manuscripts several years after his death. He led the creation of a family foundation dedicated to preparing and publishing the entire corpus of Caicedo’s writing. Caicedo’s renown has continued growing as publications are translated and published until today.

Yellowed newspaper clippings from a film review in Spanish are arranged on a white background show the large title of a review of the Godfather Part 2 by Andrés Caicedo with the made-up onomatopoeic word "uuuuuuuuggf" in it. The title of the publication, at top, is El Pueblo Estravagario, dated Sunday, October 19, 1975.
Review of “The Godfather 2” by Andrés Caicedo, including creative use of onomatopoeia, published in El Pueblo Estravagario.

The Andrés Caicedo Collection contains materials collected by the author’s sister, Rosario Caicedo, and includes manuscripts, photographs, correspondence, rare publications, press clippings, and family photo albums. Some of the most important documents in the collection are letters to and from his parents, Carlos Alberto and Nellie Estela, and his sister, Rosario, in the last years of his life. Several folders in the collection document Caicedo’s involvement in the Cine Club de Cali, including issues of the magazine Ojo al Cine. Finally, family photo albums of his parents and grandparents document the life of his family in the first decades of the twentieth century.

A yellowed sheet of unlined paper, edges badly damaged with stains in some areas, contains a typewritten letter from the author to his father, whom he addresses are Carlos Alberto. It is signed in blue pen.
Letter from Caicedo to his father, signed ‘Tu Hijo (Que te pesa)’. Benson Latin American Collection.

This collection supplements the Archivo Andrés Caicedo, donated by the family to the Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango in Bogotá, Colombia, and helps present a side of Caicedo that brings a wider understanding to his life and his literary corpus. View the contents of the archive at Texas Archival Resources Online.

En español: Read “El Segundo archivo de Andrés Caicedo llega a Texas” by Yefferson Ospina, UT Austin Graduate Research Assistant who worked on processing the archive.


Adrian Johnson is Head of User Services at the Benson Latin American Collection, and Librarian for the Andean Region.

Read, Hot and Digitized: A Digital Survey of the Scottish Witch Trials

The witch trials of Europe in the early modern period, from about 1400 to 1775, resulted in the prosecution, often violent, of over 100,000 people. Studying this history and understanding its causes—which were multifaceted, and incorporated elements of religious persecution of alleged heresy, superstition, and religious conflict between Catholics and Protestants—is an important way we can understand the motivations of past atrocities and learn from them to avoid similar violence and intolerance in the future. The Witches: Survey of Scottish Witchcraft project at the University of Edinburgh is one project that makes this history more broadly accessible and understandable both to scholars and the general public.

The site itself contains an excellent introduction to the history of witch trials in Scotland. It states:

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Scotland went through a series of changes to the state and church which fuelled the Scottish witch hunt. As a result of the Reformation, when Scotland broke away from the Catholic Church and moved towards Protestantism, the church went through an upheaval of religious belief and became much more interested in what ordinary people did and believed. 

This concern led to great concern from Church and state about people’s religious beliefs and practices, deviations from behavior expected by the Church and society (such as not attending Church on a Sunday), and witchcraft. More than 4,000 people were prosecuted for witchcraft in Scotland between 1563 and 1736, and confessions were often evinced using torture. Of people accused of being witches it is estimated that around 2,500, or roughly two-thirds, were executed, with the majority of those executed (about 85%) being women.

The main map on the site’s landing page, showing locations where witches in the database lived.
The main map on the site’s landing page, showing locations where witches in the database lived.

The site’s most striking feature is a map showing accused witches’ residences and details about their case and personal lives, including their occupations. This provides an intuitive and visually appealing way to explore the dataset, and allows for free exploration of the data without digging into the spreadsheets and metadata underlying the map. Users can also search the complete dataset used to make the map, exploring the same by searching for an accused’s name. In addition to these exploratory tools, the site also features a very helpful introduction that explains many details of the dataset and provides further background information, as well as a number of additional visualizations. Particularly affecting is the Story of Isobel Young visualization, which chronicles the life and death of one woman who was accused of witchcraft and executed.

The Story of Isobel Young visualization, showing a map of places where Isobel lived and background information on the Scottish Witchcraft Act of 1563.
The Story of Isobel Young visualization.

The site also provides a host of references that provide scholarly background on the history of witch trials in Scotland. There are also a number of resources, including a GitHub repository for the project’s website and the CSV files used to make the map. It also provides lists of accused witches, trials, people involved, and memorials and sites of interest within Scotland that users may wish to visit.

The Witches: Survey of Scottish Witchcraft site offers a robust but inviting introduction to this period of European history. I encourage you to explore the site for yourself and find out what it has to offer.

Related resources at the UT Libraries:

Witch Hunts in Europe and America: An Encyclopedia

Demonology and Witch-hunting in Early Modern Europe

Witch Hunts: A history of the Witch Persecutions in Europe and North America

Archive of Cristina Rivera Garza, Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Acquired by Benson Latin American Collection

By LAUREN PEÑA, PhD

The Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection is pleased to announce the acquisition of the literary archive of distinguished Mexican author and professor Cristina Rivera Garza, a recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and MacArthur Fellowship. This archive enhances the Benson’s extensive collection of materials that embody Latin American literary tradition, intellectual thought, and leadership, reflecting the stature of the library and the University of Texas at Austin campus as an invaluable resource for students, faculty, and researchers globally.

Cristina Rivera Garza, born in 1964 in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, is one of the most influential and innovative contemporary Mexican authors. She has been the recipient of Mexico’s most prestigious literary accolades, including the Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz Prize, which she won twice. Her writing defies traditional literary genres, blending historical research, speculative fiction, and linguistic experimentation to challenge dominant narratives and conventional storytelling.

Three women with dark hair sit on the ground. The mother is at the far left, smiling. The daughter in the middle has wavy dark hair, wire-rimmed glasses, and overalls. Her sister, on the right, has short, dark hair and a moody expression.
The author Cristina Rivera Garza, center, with her mother, left, and her sister Liliana Rivera Garza. Undated photo. Cristina Rivera Garza Papers, Benson Latin American Collection.

Rivera Garza’s works, including Nadie me verá llorar (1999), Dolerse: Textos desde un país herido (2011), El mal de la taiga (2012), and El invencible verano de Liliana (2023), engage deeply with themes of gender violence, loss, and memory. Through these narratives, she explores Mexico’s complex socio-political landscape, giving voice to silenced histories.


The Benson Latin American Collection presents An Evening with Cristina Rivera Garza on Monday, April 14, 2025. Find details here.


Rivera Garza grew up along the U.S.–Mexico border, a region rich in cultural traditions and marked by the fluidity of languages, identities, and experiences. This liminal space shaped her literary and academic sensibilities, fostering a transnational perspective that permeates her work. She studied urban sociology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), a premier academic institution, and later earned a doctoral degree in Latin American history from the University of Houston. This academic background plays a crucial role in her writing, allowing her to seamlessly weave together fiction, poetry, and scholarly research.

Rivera Garza’s acclaimed novel Nadie me verá llorar (1999) exemplifies her unique ability to fuse historical research with fiction. Set in a mental health institution in early-twentieth-century Mexico, the novel tells the tragic love story of Joaquín, a photographer and addict, and Matilda, a rebellious patient whose life defies social conventions. However, the novel transcends this romantic premise. It has become a powerful meditation on how medical discourse and institutional power define sanity and madness in Mexico’s tempestuous historical past. Through her prose, Rivera Garza captures the fragility of memory while critiquing the oppressive systems that define these mental states.

English translation of a page of No One Will See Me Cry in page proofs, with handwritten query in the right-hand margin.
Page proof of English translation of No One Will See Me Cry, with query. Cristina Rivera Garza Papers, Benson Latin American Collection.

Language itself has become a central theme in Rivera Garza’s work. She experiments with form, voice, and narrative structure, often incorporating archival fragments, poetic interludes, and hybrid genres. In works like Dolerse: Textos desde un país herido, La muerte me da, and El invencible verano de Liliana, the author uses language not only as a medium of expression, but as a tool of resistance. She gives voice to the grief and trauma of gender-based violence, while simultaneously interrogating the silences imposed by official histories and institutionalized narratives.

Two young women stand outside a house. The one on the left, Liliana, is wearing white and looking down. The one on the right, Cristina, is laughing and looking at the camera, her hands in the pockets of her brown pants.
Cristina Rivera Garza, right, with her sister Liliana Rivera Garza. Undated photo. Cristina Rivera Garza Papers, Benson Latin American Collection.

El invencible verano de Liliana (2021, published in English as Liliana’s Invincible Summer in 2023) is one of her most intimate and politically charged works. This book serves as a tribute to her younger sister, Liliana Rivera Garza, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in the summer of 1990. Written decades later, the text functions both as an act of remembrance and a form of literary justice. Through its narrative, Rivera Garza reconstructs Liliana’s life and the circumstances surrounding her death by utilizing her sister’s personal writings, diary entries, letters, and official documents. In doing so, she transcends traditional literary classifications and crafts a work that challenges the conventions of genre. In prose that encapsulates the intimacy of sisterhood, she deploys precise language that condemns the systemic impunity and gender-based violence that persists in Mexico.

Image from book cover. The title, El Invencible Verano de Liliana is written in green, blue, and pale lime-green. Below the title and the author's name is a photograph of a young woman with a hoop earring visible in one ear, wearing a pinkish button-down shirt. Behind her is mostly dark, although a blurry forest appears toward the top of the frame.
Cover, “El invencible verano de Liliana.”

Rivera Garza captures the essence of the women’s resistance movement against gender violence in a deeply personal yet politically charged reflection. When she writes, “These grassroots movements have attracted more and more women, younger women, women who grew up in a city, and a country, that harasses them every step of every day, never leaving them alone or offering respite. Women always about to die. Women dying and yet alive” (Liliana’s Invincible Summer, p. 9). The repetition of the word women underscores the collective suffering, while the paradox—“women dying and yet alive”—conveys the precarious existence of women living under constant threat, trapped in a liminal space between life and death.

Integrating her sister’s voice through preserved writings becomes Rivera Garza’s ultimate act of resistance—one that not only prevents the erasure of victims, but also critiques the sanitized language of legal and forensic reports, exposing the dehumanizing bureaucracy that often surrounds cases of femicide. By capturing the complexity of mourning and the struggle for justice, Rivera Garza denounces a broader social epidemic while issuing a powerful call to remember, fight, and resist.

Through her bold and experimental body of work, Cristina Rivera Garza has redefined the boundaries of Latin American literature. Her writing follows in the footsteps of a constellation of authors such as María Luisa Puga, Gloria Anzaldúa, and Alicia Gaspar de Alba, whose archives are also held at the Benson, offering readers a powerful lens through which to examine the intersections of personal and collective memory, violence, and resistance.

Cover of a literary magazine with the title in yellow and red. A thin line drawing adorns most of it.
Student literary publication from UNAM. Cristina Rivera Garza Papers, Benson Latin American Collection.
Poetry by Cristina Rivera Garza printed on the yellowing pages of a student literary magazine.
Poem published during her time at UNAM. Cristina Rivera Garza Papers, Benson Latin American Collection.

The Cristina Rivera Garza Papers, now part of the Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas at Austin, contains poetry, photographs, essays, correspondence, and manuscripts. Among the highlights of the collection are letters between the author and her sister, Liliana Rivera Garza. This rich archive offers scholars and students an unprecedented opportunity to engage with Rivera Garza’s creative process from conception to completion. Her literary contributions will undoubtedly continue to shape contemporary literature for generations to come.


Lauren Peña, PhD, is head of collection development at the Benson Latin American Collection.

Librarian Lens: Requesting Information via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Meryl Brodsky, Information & Communication Librarian and Juliana Kasper. Juliana Kasper received a Master’s in Information Studies from UT’s iSchool in 2024 where she conducted interdisciplinary research on Autonomous Vehicles using PIA requests. She now works in records and information management as a Records Analyst for the Texas state government.


The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency. Federal agencies are required to disclose information requested under the FOIA unless it falls under one of nine exemptions which protect interests such as personal privacy, national security, and law enforcement.

The FOIA requires agencies to post some categories of information online, including frequently requested records. FOIA is part of informing the public about government activities. The first step you should take if you think there is agency information you need, is to see if it is already available online. It  may be in a FOIA Library, or a FOIA Reading Room posted on an agency website. As an example, here’s a link to the Electronic Reading Room from the National Archives: https://www.archives.gov/foia/electronic-reading-room.

You will need to know which agency produces this information. Here is a list of federal agencies: https://foia.wiki/wiki/Agencies_Landing_Page. Each federal agency is a separate entity. There is no central office. For example, you must determine if you need information from the Department of Education or whether what you’re really looking for is local information about schools. You can request information from federal, state and local government agencies.

Once you’ve identified which agency has the information you are looking for, you must send them your FOIA request in the manner in which they specify. It could be a letter or an email or an online form. You need to make your request very specific. Structure your request so that whoever responds can easily find the information and get the information to you. In addition, you must specify the format in which you wish to receive your information. https://www.foia.gov/how-to.html

If you need to make multiple similar requests, it is valuable to build out a template to batch them. You can plug in words/terms based on the specific request. For example: “I am requesting [INSERT RECORD TYPE i.e: emails, meeting minutes] the [DEPARTMENT, AGENCY, OFFICE, ETC.] has collected on [INSERT SPECIFIC, SEARCHABLE TERM] related to [INSERT TOPIC OF INTEREST]. I aim to obtain records documenting [INSERT MORE CONTEXT/RELEVANT DETAILS ON THE SEARCHABLE TERM] related to [TOPIC] from [Month Date Year to Month Date Year].”

Agencies generally process requests in the order in which they are received. However, the information you seek may not be available immediately, depending on its complexity. Complex requests may be large or they may require searching for records from different locations or from different time periods. FOIA requests can take longer than a semester, so if you are interested in this information for a class project, you may need to start early, or use data that’s already available.

Sometimes there are fees for photocopying or other services. For example, the CIA has their fee schedule right on the FOIA page, though their information is generally free for academic pursuits.

You may even need to follow up to see where your request is in the process. Most of the agencies list people to call. Do not hesitate to get in touch with them. Getting access to public information is your right, even if you are not a citizen. However, it may take some effort. You might receive the response of “no responsive information” to a request. Sometimes the agency doesn’t keep the information you requested, especially if the information comes from a public/private partnership.

The Population Research Center on UT’s campus has restricted information on population health and well being, reproductive, maternal and infant health, family demography and human development and education, and institutions. This restricted information is generally private, but you may be able to access it for research purposes. If your research falls into this realm, you may apply to use their data, but you should first contact an Administrator to see if your proposal is feasible. Using this type of data requires a duty of care to protect study participants, even if the data is unrestricted public information. The data may be used if it is required for a research project, and the researcher keeps the data secure. https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/prc/

Texas Public Information Act (TPIA)

The Texas Public Information Act (TPIA) allows citizens to access government records held by public agencies. Information granted by TPIA is circulated but may not be readily available to the public.

While FOIA requests are open to the general public, TPIA requests are only available to citizens. TPIA can often release information faster, since the documentation has already circulated. Under the TPIA, governmental bodies are required to respond to PIA requests of all forms— you can even send them one written on a napkin and they have to respond to it.

Under the TPIA if it takes longer than 5 hours for them to gather the responsive information then they can charge you: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/files/divisions/open-government/conference/12-3CostBasics.pdf

Also, do not be surprised if the legal department asks questions about the nature of your research. 

For more information go to the Texas Public Information Act.

City of Austin

Austin makes municipal information available. For example, you can request information on reported incidents involving driverless vehicles. Go here to learn more. The FAQ is also helpful.

The City of Austin also maintains an Open Data Portal. You can find out graduation rates of local schools here: https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/city-of-austin-schools-with-data

Last, for more detailed information, the UT Libraries has a new research guide on this topic here: https://guides.lib.utexas.edu/FOIA

Israeli Literary Magazine Digitization Project Complete

https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/handle/2152/29709

Iton 77 is one of the prominent literary magazines of literature, poetry, and culture in Israel.[1] The UT Libraries has cooperated with the publishers of Iton 77 since 2013 and recently finished the digitization of 391 issues, bringing almost the whole run online.[2] Additional issues will be digitized or added as digitally-born files in the near future. This is the most complete digital archive of Iton 77 currently in existence. Being a searchable, full text archive, openly accessible to the public worldwide with no restrictions, it promises to be a valuable resource for scholars as well as for the general public.

Established by the late poet and editor Yaakov Besser in 1977, the magazine is now celebrating 48 years of commitment to literary work. Many Israeli poets and authors published their first texts in Iton 77, and it is still a desired platform for emerging and experienced writers alike. Published works include poems, short stories, book reviews, literary criticism and research, opinion editorials, essays, and works in translation. Wide representation is given to Israeli writers who write in languages other than Hebrew, such as Arabic, Russian, and Yiddish. Being a pluralistic platform, Iton 77 is open to alternative narratives and opinions, acknowledging the importance of historical contexts while discussing the complicities and difficulties of Israeli existence.  Current editors are Yaakov Besser’s son, Michael Besser, and ‘Amit Yisre’eli-Gil’ad.

Upon the acquisition of some print back issues of the magazine in 2013, UT Libraries and the Iton 77 publishing house discussed a future online visibility for the publication, and the possibility for hosting the digital issues on the UT Libraries digital repository – now known as Texas ScholarWorks or TSW. Like many other digital repositories, TSW was established to provide open, online access to the products of the University’s research and scholarship, and to preserve these works for future generations. In addition, TSW is also used as a platform for digital content that is not necessarily created on campus, but is rather a product of cooperation with off campus content owners, such as the Iton 77 publishing house. 

Screenshot of a Texas ScholarWorks repository page from The University of Texas at Austin, displaying metadata for "Iton 77, issue 001." The page includes a thumbnail image of the magazine cover, access to full-text PDF files, publication date (1977-02), authors (Besser, Micha; Gilad-Yisre’eli, Amit), and publisher (Iton 77). It also lists the department (UT Libraries), keywords and LCSH subject headings related to Israeli literature and periodicals, and links to the item's URI and DOI.

TSW provides stable and long-term access to submitted works, as well as associated descriptive and administrative metadata, by employing a strategy combining secure backup, storage media refreshment, and file format migration. Conveniently and helpfully, all works submitted to TSW are assigned persistent URLs, – permanent web addresses that will not change overtime.

All scanned issues of Iton 77 have been OCR-ed for full-text searchability and can be downloaded either as text or PDF files. Currently issues are sortable by date and title, with sorting by author and subject in the works. With the permission of UTL and the Iton 77 publishing house, most of the content is mirrored and indexed on the Ohio State University Modern Hebrew Literature Lexicon.

The total number of downloads of all issues to-date is 241,947. Issues are viewed and downloaded from every corner of the globe. Not surprisingly, most of the users are from Israel, with the United States and Germany in second and third place. Other Hebrew readers connect from many other countries, including Egypt, Japan, Togo, and Syria. 

The most popular issue since going online in TSW with 6194 downloads to-date is the double issue from January 1987, called the ‘decade issue.’ It celebrated some of the most prominent Israeli authors, poets, and essayists of that time, such as Yitsḥaḳ Aṿerbukh Orpaz, Aharon Meged, Erez Biton, A.B. Yehoshua, Dalia Rabikovitch, Anton Shamas, Shimon Balas, and many others.

We are excited about this partnership to bring Iton 77 to a global audience in this stable open access format and encourage all to browse and use it! 

Iton 77 double issue 84-85 (January 1987). https://hdl.handle.net/2152/75368

[1] “Iton” is the transliterated form of the Hebrew word for “newspaper” (עתון).

[2] This count includes 67 double-issues. Three issues (200; 293; 341-342) were published as printed books and are not included in the project.

Back to Egypt via Türkiye

In December 2024, after classes came to a close, I took a brief trip to Istanbul, Türkiye, with the hope of acquiring pivotal Arabic-language journals that had been published in Egypt. I’ve written for the TexLibris blog before on the importance of looking for essential research materials in unexpected places, such as Arabic in Türkiye. This trip was yet another example.

So, what were these texts that I traveled across the Atlantic in order to secure for the UT Libraries researcher community? One of them is مجلس النواب مجموعة المضابط (Majlis al-Nuwwab: Majmu’at al-Madabit/Meeting Minutes of the House of Representatives). I acquired 18 volumes of this title, representing the record of the discussions and decisions taken by a House of the Egyptian Parliament in the late 1920s and 1930s. This title had been on my radar ever since I acquired مجلس الشيوخ مجموعة المضابط (Majlis al-Shuyukh: Majmu’at al-Madabit/Meeting Minutes of the House of Lords) a few years ago. That title consists of the records of the House of Lords of the Egyptian Parliament from the 1930s to the 1950s. My goal was to complement the House of Lords collection with the House of Representatives’ records from nearly the same time period so that UT Libraries is able to offer researchers a comprehensive record of Egyptian Parliamentary activity from the early 20th century. These types of government records may seem fairly mundane, but they are, in fact, remarkably difficult to locate outside of official copies kept at the Egyptian National Archives. In North America, UT Austin is one of four holding institutions for Majlis al-Shuyukh: Majmu’at al-Madabit, and one of five holding institutions for Majlis al-Nuwwab: Majmu’at al-Mudabit. I am eager to see the scholarship that arises from the presence of these crucial and rare titles at the UT Libraries, and I encourage scholars from other research institutions to consider visiting UT Libraries to consult these materials.

The second title that I acquired is الموسوعة الجنائية (al-Mawsu’ah al-Jina’iyyah/Encyclopedia on Criminal Law) by legal scholar Jindi Abd al-Malik Bayk. This work, published in the 1930s, is an encyclopedia of Egyptian criminal law structures and standards. It chronicles the historical development of criminal law, doctrinal formation, and the rules that came to be adopted in modern Egyptian criminal law. This title also includes the substantive case law that underpins some of the key assumptions and orientations for criminal procedure and criminality in Egypt.

The third title, الدنيا المصورة (al-Dunya al-Musawwarah/The Illustrated World), was published between 1929-1932. It was a weekly journal from the famous Dar al-Hilal publishing house, responsible for numerous impactful intellectual and popular periodicals in early 20th century Egypt. Edited by Emil and Shukri Zaydan, al-Dunya al-Musawwarah was renowned for its caricatures and the artists behind them, as well as for its plethora of photographs. It also featured influential articles by foundational litterateurs and political commentators, such as Fikri Abaza (فكري أباظة). UT Austin is now one of a only a handful of North American institutions with any holdings of this important title. al-Dunya al-Musawwarah complements our existing collection of early 20th century Arabic periodicals that I have been building since joining UT Austin 10 years ago. Other notable titles include البلاغ الأسبوعي (al-Balagh al-Usbu’i/The Weekly Calling), الهلال (al-Hilal/The Crescent), المصور (al-Musawwar/The Illustrated), and الكواكب (al-Kawakib/The Planets).

As I continue my work to maintain our existing collections and expand upon them, it is my hope that complementary titles such as these—titles that work together and extend the knowledge already present in the UT Libraries’ collections—will make crucial connections for UT Austin researchers and beyond. I invite anyone interested to learn more about these materials and/or our Middle Eastern Studies collections to reach out for a consultation.

Libraries Hosts Literary Salon in Houston with Hamilton Winner Hillis

In a celebration of literature, biodiversity, and Texas’ natural beauty, the Libraries hosted a literary salon in Houston on Monday, February 24, featuring acclaimed author and UT Austin professor David M. Hillis. The event, generously hosted by Tom and Reggie Nichols—former Libraries Advisory Council members and proud UT alumni—highlighted UT Libraries’ role in supporting critical research and advancing fundraising initiatives.

L-R: Tom and Reggie Nichols, Lorraine Haricombe, Claire Burrows.

The evening centered around Hillis’ latest book, Armadillos to Ziziphus: A Naturalist in the Texas Hill Country, a deeply personal and scientifically rich exploration of the Hill Country’s diverse landscapes. Guests received copies of the book and were treated to a special reading of the chapter The Last Wild River, in which Hillis wove together the history of the Lower Pecos River with his own experiences.

Armadillos to Ziziphus was named grand prize winner at the 2024 Hamilton Book Awards.

Vice Provost Lorraine Haricombe welcomed attendees and invited them to browse a curated selection of materials from the Life Science Library, showcasing works on Texas’ biodiversity and environmental history.

Hillis, who serves as director of the Biodiversity Center at UT Austin’s College of Natural Sciences, is renowned for his contributions to evolutionary biology. A MacArthur Fellow and member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, he has discovered numerous species, including Austin’s iconic Barton Springs Salamander. His book reflects his lifelong passion for conservation, encapsulated in his belief:

“The more we understand and experience nature, the more of it we will appreciate, and the more we will seek to protect it for future generations to enjoy.”

The evening reinforced the Libraries’ commitment to fostering intellectual engagement while celebrating the invaluable research and scholarship at The University of Texas at Austin.

Read, Hot and Digitized: The Mixtape Museum

Read, hot & digitized: Librarians and the digital scholarship they love — In this series, librarians from UTL’s Arts, Humanities and Global Studies Engagement Team briefly present, explore and critique existing examples of digital scholarship.  Our hope is that these monthly reviews will inspire critical reflection of and future creative contributions to the growing fields of digital scholarship.


Before we had Spotify playlists, we had the mixtape. Scrawled handwritten track lists; the precise practice of hitting PLAY and REC at the same time; the dread of ejecting the cassette from the player to find the tape had been pulled into a tangled mess and using a pencil to carefully respool it.

A definition of the word mixtape. Noun: Traditionally recorded on to a compact cassette, a mixtape is a compilation of songs from various sources arranged in specific order.
A screenshot from the About section of The Mixtape Museum.

The Mixtape Museum (MXM) is a digital archive project and educational initiative committed to the collection, preservation, and celebration of mixtape history. The project seeks to both further mixtape scholarship and foster public dialogue, raising awareness of the artistry and far-reaching impact of mixtapes as a cultural form.

An image of a handwritten track list on a mixtape
Stephen J. Tyson Sr. Collection.

The Mixtape Memory Collection is the heart of the MXM, bringing together interviews, anecdotes, photographs, and reflections from a mix of contributors. There are tributes to mixtape pioneers, reminiscences about childhood introductions to Hip Hop, and laments for tapes not saved. I appreciated this brief recollection of a “mixtape correspondence” as it underscores the richness of the form as a mode of communication.

While mixtapes are the anchor point, these memories are also about people and places, relationships and phases, marking connections between a cultural era and the personal eras of our lives. The Collection reveals how music indexes experiences and moments in time, and also attests to the way particular objects can become imbued with layers of meaning and cultural significance. Even in the digital space of the MXM, I am struck by the affective resonance of the physical cassettes themselves, each containing a story that stretches beyond the tape wound inside it.

An image of eight cassettes with handwritten labels
DJ Red Alert, Ismael Telly Collection.

In addition to the Memory Collection, the MXM includes a News section of related articles and public events, and a Mixtape Scholarship Library featuring key texts in the field. Appropriately, there is also a Listen section, which takes visitors to the Mixtape Museum Soundcloud page, where today’s creators might upload their tracks instead of passing out their tapes.

Aligned in a sense with the ethos of the format it highlights, the MXM operates from a simple WordPress site—a platform with a relatively low barrier of entry for producing digital content. The project was founded by scholar, arts administrator, and community archivist Regan Sommer McCoy, who serves as Chief Curator, supported by a group of advisors and institutional collaborators.

As I browse the collection my own mixtape memories surface—a tape gifted to me by a former best friend that I played on repeat during my freshman year of high school; my painstaking efforts to create the perfect mix to let a crush know the way I really felt about him. Does the MXM spark a mixtape memory for you? The project welcomes submissions to the archival collection and invites a variety of formats. Contributors have the option to make memories public or keep them password protected, respecting the boundaries of each offering.


Want to learn more about mixtape culture and history? Several of the titles featured in the MXM are available from the UT Libraries:

Auerbach, Evan, and Daniel Isenberg. Do Remember! : The Golden Era of NYC Hip-Hop Mixtapes / Evan Auerbach, Daniel Isenberg. New York, NY: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 2023. 

Burns, Jehnie I. Mixtape Nostalgia : Culture, Memory, and Representation / Jehnie I. Burns. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2021.

Moore, Thurston. Mix Tape : The Art of Cassette Culture / Edited by Thurston Moore.1st ed. New York, NY: Universe Pub., 2004

Taylor, Zack, Georg Petzold, and LLC Seagull and Birch. Cassette : A Documentary Mixtape / a Film by Zack Taylor ; Directed, Produced, and Filmed by Zack Taylor ; Edited, Produced, and Additional Camera by Georg Petzold ; Seagull and Birch, LLC. El Segund

Walker, Lance Scott. DJ Screw : A Life in Slow Revolution. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2022. 

Scholars Lab Series Launches with Talk on Data Storytelling and Visualization

The Scholars Lab Speaker Series at the University of Texas Libraries welcomed renowned data visualization expert Dr. Alberto Cairo on February 10 for a thought-provoking discussion on the intersection of visualization, art, and insight. Cairo, the Knight Chair in Visual Journalism at the University of Miami, engaged an audience of students, faculty, and researchers in a conversation about how data storytelling can enhance both comprehension and communication.

During his talk, “Visualization: An Art of Insight,” Cairo explored the aesthetic and analytical dimensions of data visualization, emphasizing that effective visuals go beyond aesthetics to provide clarity, context, and meaning. He shared examples from journalism, scientific research, and public policy to illustrate how well-crafted visual representations can inform, persuade, and even challenge assumptions.

Cairo discussed how data visualization is not merely about following set rules but rather a reasoning process that carefully considers content, audience, and purpose. He emphasized that designing a visualization is an intentional, iterative dialogue, requiring deliberate choices about how information is encoded—using length, area, angle, or color—to effectively represent data.

Cairo illustrated how data visualization can reveal trends, exceptions, and broad patterns, pointing to, and underscored the challenge of balancing showing vs. explaining data, using the cone of uncertainty in hurricane forecasts as an example of how misinterpretation can arise without adequate context and annotation.

Finally, he urged designers to move beyond software defaults, encouraging thoughtful refinement in visual composition, from color choices to line breaks, to create clear and effective graphics. His insights reinforced the idea that data visualization is both an analytical tool and a form of storytelling, shaping how people understand and engage with information.

The event, held in Perry-Castañeda Library’s Scholars Lab, was the first installment of the new Scholars Lab Speaker Series, launched to highlight emerging trends in digital scholarship. Audience members had the opportunity to engage with Cairo in a Q&A session that followed the talk.

The event also marked the commencement of International Love Data Week 2025, celebrating the significance of data in modern research and decision-making. For more information on upcoming events and resources, visit the UT Libraries’ official website.

UT Libraries