Introduction
The University Archives are part of the Special Collections of the P.I. Nixon Medical Historical Library, located on the 5th floor of the Briscoe Library at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio. Access to the University Archives is by appointment only as some materials are in remote locations and must be retrieved.
Statement of Purpose
The purpose of the University Archives is to identify, preserve, and make available for research records that document the origins, development, programs, policies, and collections of the UT Health Science Center as well as the history of medicine in San Antonio and South Texas.
Definitions
Institutional Records: all documentary materials, regardless of physical format, that are created or received by staff members in the course of doing their jobs, including handwritten, typewritten, or computer-generated documents; photographs; clippings from newspapers and magazines; audio-visual materials; architectural records; university publications; etc.
Archival records: those materials that are no longer regularly used by the office that created or received them, but which have lasting administrative or historical value making them worth of long-term preservation.
Inactive records: those that receive little use in ordinary circumstances and have no long-term value. Non-record materials: published materials (e.g., books, pamphlets, brochures) not generated by the university and not dealing with the history of the university or medicine in San Antonio or South Texas; surplus copies of university publications and articles about the university; and Ephemera.
Personal papers: some individuals keep in their offices materials relating to their personal activities. These should be kept separate from records that are created in the course of their work for the university. If the papers relate to professional activities, university personnel are encouraged to offer them to the the Archives, as personal research and writing can increase understanding of university collections and activities.