This collection was compiled to preserve the sentiments of people in many walks of life across Texas A&M University and the surrounding area of Bryan-College Station.

This collection was intentionally developed, pulling together political documentation and radical writings of people of African descent from around the country.

The Texas A&M University Zine Collection is a generalized "floating" collection of zines tied to a set of particular collecting criteria:

• Zines created by Texans, Southwesterners or other Southerners and/or concern Texas, the Southwest and the South; zines created by minorities across Texas, the Southwest or the South; zines created by TAMU students or former students; and Artzines concerned with printing and/or designed as print art objects.

The collection has "Texas A&M University" in the title to reflect the collecting criterion of zines created by A&M students or former students. More importantly, however, the inclusion of the A&M name in the collection title reinforces the collection's connection to the university as well as its major purpose, to help make TAMU a center for the preservation of regional alternative voices.

The Media Fanzine Collection is comprised of numerous pre-Internet fan-produced publications that document their involvement in a particular fandom. Fandoms are based around media productions such as movies (i.e. the Star Wars film series) or television shows (i.e. Star Trek in its various iterations). Although traditionally most media fandoms involve productions from the science fiction and fantasy genres, there are numerous exceptions.

The majority of the contents in this collection consists of fan fiction. Fan fiction is the name given to literary or artistic productions created by fans about the characters, settings and events of the media universe in which they are interested. A substantial portion of the fanworks in the Media Fanzine Collection is identified as "slash”. "Slash" refers to fanworks that feature same-sex relationships and are sometimes (though not always) sexually explicit. In slash, sexual identity, sexuality and/or romance are often the centers of the story, rather than the conventional adventures featured in more traditional fanworks.

A small portion of the collection consists of "het" material. "Het", like slash, refers to fanworks featuring sexual or romantic content, but with opposite-sex relationships.

Slash and het items are identified as such on the item folder. If an item is not identified as slash or het, it is to be assumed that the item is “gen” (containing no sexual or romantic content. Both slash and het items have been specifically identified because of their importance as highly visible fan fiction subcultures. (s) indicates slash material. (h) indicates het material.

Fanzines are organized alphabetically by fandom name, and thereunder by title. The term “Multimedia” refers to anthologies of material from different fandoms. The term “Crossover” refers to stories in which characters from one or more media universes interact with those from another. (For example, a story in which Mal Reynolds' ship Serenity passed through a wormhole and encountered Captain James T. Kirk's U.S.S. Enterprise would be a Firefly/Star Trek crossover.)

The October 2016 Addendum includes several "friend books", tiny zines used by pre-teens and teens in the 1970s and 1980s as a way of finding other like-minded fans in the pre-Internet era. Some "friend books" were sized small enough to fit into an international envelope (2-3 inches), and consisted of no more than a few pages. The covers were pages cut from magazines or advertisement and were stapled or taped into a booklet shape. Many were multi-fandom, but some focused on single fandoms like Star Wars. Fans would write their name and address, and list their interests. The book would then passed along to the next fan. When the booklet was filled it was to be mailed back to the original fan. Often times questions were asked (ex: Who is your favorite Star Wars character?)

There are several additional items, including materials from genre conventions, ads and flyers, professional publications that relate to various fandoms, and various items of printed realia. The Christina Pilz February 2024 Addendum contains a number of fanzine advertisements and documentation devoted to fanzine and fanfic productions.

Sub-Series 1 of the Georgia Barnes Addendum contains maps of the Star Trek universe, and has therefore been filed with other items in the Maps Of Imaginary Places Collection.

Audio-Visual Materials

The collection also contains non-print materials. There are a significant number of fanvids in the collection (and the fandoms for those vids are noted in the finding aid). There are also several DVDs that contain recordings of fanfiction podcasts, from a number of different fandoms.

On Star Trek

Since 1966 there have been 5 non-animated television iterations of the television franchise Star Trek. Each one has its own dedicated fandom (although certainly many Trekkers are fans of multiple series), and each one has a generally accepted denotation. Those denotations are used in this collection, as follows:

Star Trek [TOS] refers to the original series(1966-1969).

Star Trek [TNG] refers to Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994).

Star Trek [DS9] refers to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-1999).

Star Trek [VGR] refers to Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001).

Star Trek [ENT] refers to Star Trek: Enterprise (2001-2005).

On The Professionals Circuit Archive:

There are several boxes of fanfiction from The Professionals Circuit Archive. The Circuit Archive is a singular form of fannish creative association, that for The Professionals fans actually predates the creation of more typical zines. In a standard fanzine distribution, a fan or group of fans will write, edit and publish a fanzine, and the publication will be printed and made available for sale. With The Professionals fandom, things began much more informally. Fans would place their stories 'on the circuit'. That is, they would write their stories and then produce photocopies; the copies would then be circulated among one another via standard mail. In time, certain fans began collecting copies together into 'circuit libraries'. Interested fans could become members of these informal lending libraries, and would receive titles on request, which they could read and /or photocopy and then return to the library. Although, in time, The Professionals fans began producing zines in the same ways that other fans did, much of the fanfiction remained (and remains) on the circuit.

By the late 1980s, two large circuit libraries were in place: one in Great Britain, and another in the United States. They enjoyed considerable overlap in their contents, but because of geographical distance and the informality of circuit distribution did not duplicate each other. In the early 1990s, as zines started entering the electronic era, fans began working to convert the vast number of paper stories into an electronic format that would encourage and increase access (as well as help preserve the much-used paper originals). In 1996, the Circuit Archive went online and continues to periodically increase its contents with new stories. The Circuit Archive, sprung from humble beginnings, now holds more than 1000 individual stories, which form the backbone of The Professionals creative fandom.

To quote Morgan Dawn, "the circuit library in the Professionals fandom is a unique tradition of women writing and sharing fan fiction (often anonymously) without going through the editorial and fanzine publication process. In many ways, it is the precursor to the fan fiction on the Internet where people would read a story, photo-copy it and send it on to someone else, and then write a response story, copy that and mail it on in an endless flow...and because The Professionals was a UK show, you have the unique situation where this communication was crossing both cultural and geographic barriers." Stories in these folders include both gen and slash.

The Sam Moskowitz collection consists of his research files, correspondence, manuscripts, many of his books, and working documents related to his study of the history of science fiction and fantasy.  Drafts of two unpublished books are included.

This collection contains short story entries made by Texas A&M students in the Annual Science Fiction and Fantasy Creative Writing Contest, co-sponsored since 2017 by the Department of English and Cushing Memorial Library & Archives.

Entries include Winners, Honorable Mentions, and all other entries.

This collection contains the checks, personal correspondence, and promissory notes of Lafayette Lumpkin Foster. He was the former president of Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University) from 1889 until his death in 1901. Additionally, this collection includes his funeral notice and the resolution of death by the A&M Board of Directors.

This collection contains letters and documents addressed to Lawrence Sullivan Ross during his time as President of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University), and from his time as the Governor of Texas. Other items in the collection include an A&M College of Texas memorial service for Ross after his passing in 1898

This collection contains correspondence and a news release from Thomas S. Gathright, the first president of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University). Gathright also wrote correspondence before his presidency as the founder of the Summerville Institute in Gholson, Mississippi and during his residency as the Superintendent of Public Instruction of Mississippi. Some of the letters in the collection were transcribed in Early History of Texas A&M College Through Letters and Papers (1952), by David Brooks Cofer. Also included, is a folder containing xerox copies of Gathright's letters and a news release from the Mississippi State Archives.

This collection contains announcements, bulletins, clippings, correspondence, financial records, and publications regarding and belonging to Louis L. McInnis, who served as acting president of Texas A&M University while holding the title of Chairman of the Faculty from January 1888 to July 1890. He was formerly an adjunct professor of ancient languages in 1877 during Thomas S. Gathright's term as President. Then, he taught mathematics and served as the chairman for the mathematics department before transitioning to leadership roles including Secretary to the Board, Treasurer of the College, and Vice-Chairman of the Faculty.

This collection contains the correspondence, photographs of L. L. Foster and his family, and research materials of Colonel Robert E. Byrns. These materials reflect his research process while writing his Masters' thesis, "A Biography of L. L. Foster (President of A&M, 1898-1901).” Byrns, who retired from the army, attended Texas A&M University and received his Master of Arts in history in 1964.

This collection contains sets of galley proofs from several issues, dating from 1965, of the important, groundbreaking British science fiction magazine New Worlds. During this period of the magazine's publication, it was edited by famous and influential science fiction author Michael Moorcock.

The proof sets for April and August 1965 are complete, while there are only partial sets for January-March 1965. There are also several additional fragments from unknown issues.

This collection contains correspondence, organizational and financial documentation, meeting minutes, and reference materials from the Coalition for Support of Public Schools (CSPS).

The CSPS was a grassroots advocacy organization established in early 1995 to, quoting its mission statement, "give concrete support and assistance to public schools in our community and to the dedicated professionals who teach our children." Membership in the group was consciously diverse in religion, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic, and cultural backgrounds and dedicated not only to the independence and excellence of public schools in the Bryan/College Station, TX area but to the Constitutional principles of freedom of religion and speech and the separation of church and state.

This collection consists of the materials and files collected by librarian and science fiction scholar/bibliographer Hal W. Hall, for the completion of a large textual analysis project (never finished) for the works of Western writer Louis L'Amour. Materials in the collection include copies of L'Amour's books (with markups by Hall), copies of L'Amour's short stories, and miscellaneous documentation used in researching L'Amour and his work.

This collection includes certificates, clippings, correspondence, diaries, photos, and publications about James Reid Cole (J. R.), the third President of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University). Cole was formerly the President of the Department of English Language, Literature, and History in 1879 before accepting the role of acting President of A&M College in 1883. Materials in this collection were used in Cole's autobiography, Seven Decades of My Life, and the biography, Supplement to First Five Administrators of Texas A. & M. College - James Reid Cole, 1879-1885, written by David Brooks Cofer.

This collection consists of manuscripts of short fiction, book reviews, and nonfiction pieces submitted to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction during the editorship of Kristine Kathryn Rusch from 1991-1997. (Several stories in the collection would be actually published in F&SF by Rusch's successor Gordon Van Gelder, who edited the magazine between 1997-2015.) With a few exceptions, all of the manuscripts were eventually published in the magazine.

Many of the manuscripts in the collection contain handwritten edits, most of which are grammatical or structural and made by copyeditors. A minority of edits, some of them more substantive textual alterations, appear to have been made by the authors themselves.

There are a few other materials in this collection mainly of scripts from the television shows Roswell and Star Trek: Enterprise, and materials relating to Star Trek novels by Rusch and her husband Dean Wesley Smith.

This collection consists of materials from the Agent Orange Research Library such as copies of research articles and publications, publications, lists and other materials of relation.

This collection contains manuscripts and manuscript material from noted science fiction author and historical novelist (under the name Jon Williams) Walter Jon Williams. Included are drafts in various stages of evolution for a number of Williams' novels and stories.

The collection contains small amounts of other materials relating to Williams' life and career, including correspondence.

This collection consists of materials relating to the 1956 A. E. Van Vogt novel Empire of the Atom, including the original typescript, galleys, and correspondence related to the book's publication and review.

This collection consists of a clarinet owned by R.C. Leffel, Texas A&M College class of 1918.

This collection contains administrative records generated by the Office of the President at Texas A&M University during the tenure of Dr. Frank E. Vandiver, 1981 to 1988.

This collection chronicles the day-to-day history of the Mariposa Ranch of Coahuila, Mexico which was owned by Australian brothers and managed by several generations of family friends originally from New Zealand.

The collection spans the years 1880-1955 and consists of three basic parts, personal correspondence, business correspondence, and miscellaneous business papers. Included are letters, diaries, minutes, proceedings, printed material, financial documents, legal documents, photographic and audio material, maps, charts, graphs, and lists that chronicle the history of La Hacienda de la Mariposa and document the hard work and political savvy of the McKellars as they tried to balance the economic and business necessities of running a ranch, with the political realities of the Mexican Revolution and land reform.

This collection consists of a number of typed manuscripts from acclaimed science fiction and fantasy author Andre Norton, spanning much of her later career, from 1981-2005. Nearly all the manuscripts are autographed by Norton, and nearly all are also marked by handmade corrections from either Norton, her editor, or her publisher.

In some cases, individual titles contain multiple copies of manuscripts (albeit with individual hand corrections) and it is unclear in which order the copies were produced. The term "original", which has been given to certain manuscripts, is a term used by Norton and does not necessarily mean that it is literally the original typed manuscript.

The collection also contains a significant amount of correspondence, much of it from Norton herself. Also contained in this collection are photographs, periodicals, and other materials related to Norton and her life and career.

This collection contains an assortment of reports, booklets, research papers, committee reports and project reports produced by or in connection with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, and is only a small part of the materials which highlight the role of Texas A&M in the development of the state's agricultural program.

The records included dates between 1938 and 1977, with the majority of the papers from 1968-1977. Of the significant items included, the annual reports of the Southern Agricultural Workers are available between 1938 and 1972, though some years are missing. Also, there are a number of project reports on research undertaken for Houston Lighting and Power and a number of publications included.

Note: As of February 2025, this collection is currently unavailable due to preservation concerns.
This scrapbook contains historical poems and songs from 1875 to 1890 collection by brother and sister Emma and John H. O'Bar.

Contents include:
HISTORICAL POEMS AND SONGS
The Birth of Freedom
Essay By Miss Lillie [1890] Valedictory
Creeds
Congregational Hymns
Hurrah for the Next That Dies
Make Good [Hergert Kaufman]
Poet and Critic
To an Oldster
The First Stanza of Mr. Lee's Ode, [Delivered 1875]
Hymns for Men
Three Kisses of Farewell
Wonderful Prayer
On the Hospital Ship
"Work and You Will Win, Boys”
"If We Might"
Clark's Platform
The Woman Who Understands
Disappointment [W. D. Thomsen Printer]
"Boarder's Away"
The Test
A New Deal [Franklin K. Gifford]
The Old Porch
Just Go! [Arthur Chamberlain]
Pocket Code Card
Tyranny [Lee Gibon]
The Two Ages [Ella Wheeler Wilcox]
The Musician [Louise Ayres Garnett]
"The Partners" [Otto F. Pearre]
The Queen of Home [Florence A. Jones]
Not Understood [Thomas Bracken]
The Man Who Came [Edwin Arlington Robinson]

This collection contains old issues of the Battalion Magazine, beginning with the April 1921 issue, and ending with the May 1943 issue.

This collection contains nearly 1000 items related to the civil rights movement from 1955-1975. The early part of this collection (1955-67) formed the basic research for Levy's book Voluntary Servitude, Whites in the Negro Movement, (New York: Appleton-Century, 1968). The collection includes hundreds of pages of writings, publications, bulletins, internal memos, broadsides, hand-printed magazines, etc. Prominent figures of the civil rights and revolutionary movements, organizations, and committees are covered in the collection. The collection also includes two photographs of President Lyndon B. Johnson signing the 1964 Civil Rights Act with Rev. Martin L. King, Jr. and other luminaries of the civil rights movement.

This collection consists of a number of items of Texas A&M University memorabilia, that display images, and lines of dialogue from the Star Wars cinematic universe. These items were sold in the fall of 2015 at the University Bookstore at the Memorial Student Center (MSC), as part of the nationwide landslide of publicity surrounding the December 2015 release of the film Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Items in the collection include T-shirts, pennants, stickers, decals, and beverage coolers, among others.

This a collection contains photographs, correspondence, and other items pertaining to the family of Walter Wipprecht (Sr.). The photographic collection spans the Wipprecht personal family ranch life in Bryan Texas to Texas A&M College and Bryan, TX early buildings. The collection includes several local newspapers, commemorative Bryan, TX memorabilia along with photographs of historic Texas A&M College during the early 1900s.

The collection includes light-sensitive glass plate negatives.

The Class of 1995 scrapbook contains photographs and miscellaneous clippings of events throughout the year 1995.