UHCL Archives and Special Collections

What follows is a description of the three collecting areas for the UHCL Archives and Special Collections, and the NASA Johnson Space Center History Collection on loan for public access from NASA and the National Archives. Completed finding aids (collection inventories with background information on the holdings) for all available materials within the UHCL Archives and Special Collections can be searched in the UHCL Neumann Library Institutional Repository. Printed finding aids are available for research appointments upon request, or as PDF documents by email for long-distance researchers. Please contact UHCL Archives and Special Collections for further assistance.

UHCL Archives and Special Collections' Collecting Areas

University Archives

• In accordance with its core mission, the UHCL Archives shall place highest priority on acquiring institutional records which possess permanent administrative, operational, legal, and historical value regarding the University of Houston-Clear Lake. UHCL collects the University Archives institutional records, based on the state-certified University of Houston System Records Retention Schedule, as it a component institution within the larger University of Houston System of universities.

• The University Archives consist of correspondence, records, photographs, publications, periodicals, outreach materials, program materials, oral histories, broadsides, and other materials, that document the founding and development of the University of Houston-Clear Lake. The institutional records include materials from student groups and publications. The UHCL Archives, on behalf of the Neumann Library, houses a print collection of student theses written by UHCL students. With the University moving to a digital thesis system, the Archives no longer actively collects theses, but maintains the past printed thesis collection for researchers.

Human Space Flight Collection*

• The Human Space Flight (HSF) Collection was initiated as a collecting focus for the UHCL Archives following its receiving custody of the Johnson Space Center History Collection in 2001. The mission of the Human Space Flight Collection is to collect original archival materials and personal papers from individuals involved in the space industry, from individuals who worked and researched in the field of human space flight, or those individuals who work for NASA at the Johnson Space Center or for any of its contractors during any given time period. The focus of the collection is to collecting papers from those who spent time working at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Finding aids for available collections are posted online and linked from the Human Space Flight Collection LibGuides page through the above link.

• Personal papers offer insight into the history and operation of human space flight that otherwise may be lost by relying only on official administrative records. They reveal professional interests and opinions that frequently clarify matters mentioned in official records. Personal viewpoints expressed in personal correspondence and documentation resulting from service may provide a better basis for understanding a given program, decision-making process, or scientific development.

Clear Lake Area Collection

• The Clear Lake Area Collection of the University of Houston-Clear Lake Archives and Special Collections contains archival materials documenting the intellectual, multicultural, social, political, environmental, and economic aspects of the regional history and development of the greater Clear Lake Area of coastal Houston, Texas. For collecting purposes, the UHCL Archives defines the Clear Lake Area as the bayside region in parts of Harris and Galveston County in southeast Texas, along the coast line of Clear Lake and Galveston Bay, including the following cities and towns: Clear Lake City, Clear Lake Shores, Webster, Kemah, League City, Nassau Bay, Seabrook, Taylor Lake Village, and parts of Houston and Pasadena that touch on the University’s service areas. Geographically, the Clear Lake Area is defined by the bodies of water in it and around it, such as Clear Lake, Taylor Lake, Clear Creek, and Galveston Bay.

• The materials include original historical materials from local organizations and neighborhoods, such as neighborhood newsletters and business organizations. The Clear Lake Area Collection include donations from local businesses, organizations, neighborhood groups, and current and former residents who have contributed to the local history and development of these communities. Some of our more notable collections include collections related to the Timber Cover neighborhood, Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership (BAHEP) Records, League of Women Voters of the Bay Area, and Clear Lake Area Neighborhood Newsletter Collection. The UHCL Archives' holdings represent one of the largest group of original materials documenting the Clear Lake Area in the state of Texas.

NASA Johnson Space Center History Collection*

• The materials in NASA's official Johnson Space Center History Collection cover more than 40 years of NASA-manned spaceflight. They include Apollo, Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP), Shuttle, Space Station Freedom, Center Records, General Reference, and the JSC Oral History Project. The collection of federal records is housed for public access in the UHCL Archives and Special Collections, through a renewable Space Act Agreement with NASA and the National Archives and Records Administration. The Johnson Space Center History Collection is open to all researchers meeting federal regulations for accessing scientific and technical information under the International Traffic in Arms (ITAR) regulations of the United States government.

*The use of the name “National Aeronautics and Space Administration” and “NASA” in this collection policy does not constitute support or approval of said policy or policy statements from NASA or any of its officials.