Special Collections, UNR Libraries

10/20/2026

On Saturday at Day at the Museum, we asked you to guess what you thought was the correct answer to three questions derived from University newspaper stories in the 1920s and 1930s. This week I bring you results and the truths!

Question one: When the University decided to choose a new mascot in the 1920, which of these was a real suggestion? A) The Flash Floods 🌊, B) The Sour Doughs 🍞, or C) The Bonanza Kings ⛏️?

In-person voting results: 17.9 votes for A, 24.1% for B, and 58% for C.

On Saturday at Day at the Museum, we asked you to guess what you thought was the correct answer to three questions derived from University newspaper stories in the 1920s and 1930s. This week I bring you results and the truths!

Question one: When the University decided to choose a new mascot in the 1920, which of these was a real suggestion? A) The Flash Floods 🌊, B) The Sour Doughs 🍞, or C) The Bonanza Kings ⛏️?

Online voting results: 20% votes for A, 29% for B, and 51% for C.

The correct answer? According to this The Nevada Sagebrush article from February 16, 1922, it’s B: The Sour Doughs! Whether intended as a serious answer or no, it made it onto the published list and feels like a real missed opportunity. The jokes about “rising” alone… University of Nevada, Reno how about it?

10/17/2026

It’s Day at the Museum 2026! Come check us out in the KC and vote in our historical university headline poll! College of Science at the University of Nevada, Reno

10/14/2026

It’s day! Got questions about our work, our collections, or similar? Today’s a great day to ask.

10/12/2026

Did you know that we have archival materials permanently in the reading room for browsing? The university yearbooks back to 1899, course catalogs back to 1886, and a selection of the Book Arts Collection live on these shelves and anyone can come take a look without our mediation when the reading room is open. All we ask is that you DO NOT re-shelve materials. Why? Well, we scan them into the catalog system to mark their use. That helps us learn what our users want to see, and we use that information to build the collections further. So your use of collection materials helps us!

Come back on Wednesday 10/14 for Day with your questions. There are no bad or silly questions! There might be the occasional silly ANSWER, depending on our level of caffeination…

09/25/2026

Taking our brand-new (just arrived on Tuesday!) portable display cases for a first outing here at the UNR CABNR field day. Many thanks to Nevada State Library, Archives and Public Records and Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for the grant support to upgrade and refresh our exhibit infrastructure!

09/23/2026

When we say to label your photos, this isn’t *quite* what we mean, but we aren’t mad about it! This 1911 campus scrapbook came to us from Helen Peterson and shows marvelous images of the buildings and activities on campus. There’s an especial focus on agricultural livestock and what is now known as the Valley Road Field Lab. And clearly whoever wrote these captions had a lively sense of humor! Want to see more of this scrapbook? Come find us at the UNR CABNR Field Day this Friday, 2-6pm at the Valley Road Field Lab!

09/10/2026

Back in the classroom for the first time this semester and it feels so good! Here are some of the goodies awaiting the students of Core Humanities 203, focused on US History - from an 1807 grammar textbook by Noah Webster to a 1994 Genoa Candy Dance cookbook, there are delights galore! Which of these would you be drawn to first?

09/04/2026

We were on tv!!!

A few ordinary-looking objects can hold extraordinary stories about Reno’s past.Reno History Detective Elspeth Olson sat down with ARC Reno Thursday morning for

08/26/2026

in 1920, US Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification of the 19th Amendment, forbidding gender-based voting restrictions. While a number of states had opened voting up to non-male citizens in preceding years, this Constitutional amendment made it nationwide. This 1914 photo by F. P. Dann shows a pro-suffrage float in Reno. On the back of the photo someone wrote: The float represents Nevada standing at the gate waiting to be admitted to her free sisters. The hundreds of yellow flowers that decorate the float represent the work of the Reno suffragists who have been busy day and night for the past two weeks; Picture taken in front of Court House, Reno; Float was awarded 2nd Prize—Value$25.00. The banner on one horse reads: Nevada, Don’t Keep Your Women Out. Anne Martin photo collection, ID UNRS-P1996-05-02