Historical Material from UNO Libraries' Archives & Special Collections

These papers reflect the scholarship of Lourdes Gouveia, Ph.D., and consist of her research materials, data, and writings dated 1973 to 2011. Through this work, Dr. Gouveia gathered a considerable amount of information about the lives of Latino immigrants in the Nebraska meatpacking industry in Lexington, Nebraska, and in other small Nebraska, Kansas, and Iowa communities from the late 1980s through the early 2010s. A substantial portion of her collection
covers her research in Lexington, Nebraska during the 1990s.

In Lexington, Dr. Gouveia studied the impact of the opening of a new Iowa Beef Packing plant, IBP, and the influx of Latino/Latin American families moving to the area. Her work focused on immigrant integration, the experiences of Latina women in migrant communities, social services available to Latinx families, and the ethical concerns of beefpacking labor. Gouveia also did research and wrote papers on issues pertaining to e. coli among other agricultural issues related to meatpacking, INS enforcement strategies, and English Language learning.

The records of the Office of Latino/Latin American Studies (OLLAS) at UNO document its operations and activities beginning from its founding in 2003. OLLAS staff meticulously documented the unit's activities and compiled fliers, posters, news coverage, documents, and material into binders for each academic year and special event (Cinemateca, Cumbre, etc.). The research work of OLLAS is represented in reports, grants, and related material.

This digital collection includes reports, fact sheets, policy briefs, and other publications of UNO"s Office of Latino and Latin American Studies as well as faculty publications.

This collection includes organizational records from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and its predecessors, the Municipal University of Omaha and the University of Omaha, dating from the institution's founding in 1908 to the present. Records originated from many colleges, schools, departments, offices, committees, faculty and staff organizations, student organizations, and alumni. Materials include publications, event programs, conference materials, publicity material, meeting minutes, correspondence, budget information, internal reports, policies, architectural drawings, photographs, and miscellaneous records from various UNO and UNO-affiliated groups or relating to UNO people, buildings, events, and academic programs.

This collection of correspondence from the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences includes correspondence with UNO deans from the Colleges of Education, Fine Arts, Engineering, and CPACS, as well as other university administrators. Also included in this collection are letters, reports, proposals, and copies of publications from UNO colleges, offices, and departments.

The UNO Poster Collection includes posters, fliers, and banners from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

The University of Nebraska at Omaha yearbook was known as the Gateway from 1915-1927; then changed names to the Omahan from 1928-1929; then changed names to the Tomahawk from 1936-1970; then changed names to Breakaway from 1971-1972; before ending as the University of Nebraska at Omaha's Maverick from 1973-1975. The first yearbook, the Gateway (1915-1927), shares its name with the university’s longtime student newspaper. No yearbook was published in 1930-1935.

Nearly every issue of UNO’s student newspaper, The Gateway , is available on-line stretching back to the 1920s.

The papers of Dr. David Lopez include photographs and the manuscript for his book The Latino Experience in Omaha: A Visual Essay (2001, Mellen Press). The photos and text for the article “Attitudes of Selected Latino Oldtimers Toward Newcomers: A Photo Elicitation Study” published in the journal Great Plains Research, which used some of the material from the book is also part of the collection. Photographic formats represented include prints, negatives, and digital images. The photographs were shot on 35mm film and are mostly black and white. All images included in the book are available in the collection as well as some photos not appearing in the book and include the Cinco de Mayo parade in South Omaha, Latino and Latina residents, storefronts, the Omaha stockyards, churches, and other scenes mostly from circa 1995-2000.

The WPA Records are drafts and research notes used for the books and pamphlets produced by the Omaha office of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Writers' Project (FWP) (1935-1943). The bulk of the papers are typescript, with a few handwritten notes. The collection includes reports about architectural works (primarily buildings), businesses and industry, cemeteries, charities, collections, crime and criminals, defense trainee interviews, education, ethnicity (race and national origin), fine arts (artists, authors, music, and theater), folklore, hospitals, interviews and biographies, the Missouri River, the State of Nebraska, newspaper clippings on a variety of topics, information about the newspapers themselves (rivalries, strikes, unions, newspapermen, and individual Nebraska newspapers), the City of Omaha, organizations and clubs, parks, politics, printing, "Prophets of Armageddon" (including information about George F. Train), radio scripts ("Pageant of Nebraska," "Pageant of Omaha," and "Pageant of Wakefield"), religion, residences, sports and recreation, the W.P.A. (American Guide Manual, bibliographies, correspondence, indexes, projects, publications, tours, and writer's production reports), and miscellaneous information. The Nebraska category is further broken down into archaeology, Civilian Conservation Corps, Douglas County, early explorers and explorations, farming, history (the most extensive portion), military information, plants and wildlife, Sarpy County, topography, villages and towns outside of Omaha, Washington County, and miscellaneous information. The Nebraska portion of the collection also includes the Nebraska Almanac, the Nebraska Atlas, and the Nebraska Encyclopedia (biographies and county information).

The LGBTQ+ Oral History Collection is the home for oral history interviews conducted with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual individuals from various communities with a focus on those with a connection to Omaha, Nebraska. The interviews were consciously collected to be part of UNO’s Queer Omaha Archives.

Collection of oral history interviews on the experiences of Latinx peoples in Omaha during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Interviews collected by Office of Latino and Latin American Studies (OLLAS) Director Cristián Doña-Reveco in partnership with University of Texas at Austin Voces Oral History Project.

UNO History professor Dr. Elaine Nelson's students collected oral history interviews in spring 2017 for a course that resulted in the exhibit "Women in Omaha: A Biographical Sketch Through History" in January-July 2018 at the Durham Museum in Omaha. The interviews were collected from Omaha women and other people who knew the women such as descendants. Women included in the exhibition were: Dr. Jacqueline St John, Rita Melgares, JD, Ella Jean Rogers, Sarah Joslyn, Octa Keen, MSN, Rose Blumkin, Linda Garcia-Perez, Edwina Justus, Kimi Takechi, Margaret Suchy, Ashleigh Buch, SSGT, and narrator CM. The course was History 4060/8066 : History of Women in America, 1875-1992.

The collection of documentary films, unedited video interviews, and supporting documents for the Omaha Public School Making Invisible Histories Visible program for the 2017-2018 summer programs document music genres in Omaha. Topics include jazz, hip hop, funk, polka, women in indie music, Mexican American music, and music of new immigrants to the U.S. The 2019 projects were about some of Omaha's neighborhoods.

The U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel Archives include his legislative papers, artifacts, campaign records, and other material. Press & Media, Speeches, Videos, Artifacts, Grant Files, Photographs, and Schedules are open for research. The rest of the collection is closed while it is being arranged and described.