USM Special Collections

04/24/2026

Have you taken our Spring User Survey yet?

Take just a few minutes to complete the survey and help shape the future of Special Collections. Your feedback helps us improve access to unique materials, enhance research support, and create better experiences with our archives, rare books, and historical resources.

🗓️ The survey is open through May 2—we’d love your input!
🔗 Take the survey: https://bit.ly/4ebywnE

Thank you for helping us grow!

04/13/2026

Join us for the Student Curator Exhibit Opening & Reception on Wednesday, April 15 from 4–5 p.m. in McCain Library & Archives (Room 305). Come celebrate the creativity and research of Southern Miss students as they debut original exhibits curated from Special Collections materials!

Featured exhibits include:
Honorable Golden Eagles: The History of The University of Southern Mississippi’s Honors College — curated by Jocelyn Revoldt
Withholding to be Heard — curated by Ashlynn Steiner
Southern Food: Not Just Country Accents and Fried Chicken — curated by Lily Bridges

The Special Collections Student Curator Program gives students real-world experience—from selecting materials and writing exhibit text to installation and promotion.

Open to both the University and Hattiesburg communities—we hope to see you there!

04/06/2026

University Libraries wants to hear from you!

Take a few minutes to complete our Spring User Survey and help us continue improving services, spaces, and resources for the campus community. Your feedback plays an important role in shaping a library experience that supports student success, teaching, learning, and research.

The survey will be open through May 2. We appreciate your time and input!

Access the survey here: https://bit.ly/4ebywnE

04/02/2026

The University and Hattiesburg communities are invited to stop in for the Student Curator Exhibit opening and reception on April 15, 2025, from 4 – 5 p.m. in McCain Library and Archives room 305. The event will showcase exhibits curated by three Southern Miss students.

"Honorable Golden Eagles: The History of The University of Southern Mississippi’s Honors College," curated by Jocelyn Revoldt

"Withholding to be Heard," curated by Ashlynn Steiner

"Southern Food: Not Just Country Accents and Fried Chicken," curated by Lily Bridges

The Special Collections Student Curator Program offers a hands-on opportunity to create one-case exhibits using materials from the Library’s collections. Through the program, students gain valuable experience in selecting items for display, writing exhibit labels and descriptive text, installing materials, and promoting their exhibits to the public.

04/01/2026

"To those who remember, Judge Robert B. Helfrich is held in high regard for his service as prosecuting attorney for the 1998 Vernon Dahmer trials. Upon his appointment to the bench, he donated his records of the trial to USM Special Collections for the research of current and future generations. His passing is a loss to the community."

~Lorraine Stuart, head of Special Collections

PS - Oddly enough, our Item of the Month is a photo from his collection!

Helfrich is credited with starting one of Mississippi’s first drug courts, as well as the state’s first veterans court, according to sources.

03/30/2026

Join us tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. in McCain Library and Archives, Room 305, for the opening of Mahony’s Meanderings. This new exhibit explores the life and literary world of collector and writer Patrick Mahony.

Featured are materials from collections reflecting his wide-ranging interests in literature, celebrity culture, politics, and the paranormal. Also on display are letters and inscribed books from literary figures such as Maurice Maeterlinck and Lord Dunsany, along with correspondence with royalty, politicians, and film icons including Fay Wray and Gloria Swanson.

03/27/2026

03/24/2026

Each month, University Libraries Special Collections highlights an item from its collections. This month, the featured item is a photograph from the Dahmer trial showing damage from the deadly attack on Vernon Dahmer's family and property in 1966.

The photograph is part of the Robert B. Helfrich papers. Helfrich was the Assistant District Attorney in the 1998 Vernon Dahmer murder trial.

This Item of the Month was written by Payshence Maddox, a forensic criminal justice major in the HON 303 seminar held in the fall of 2024 focusing on archives and special collections.

Read more about this item: https://lib.usm.edu/spcol/exhibitions/item_of_the_month/iotm_mar_2026.html

03/13/2026

Join Special Collections on March 31 at 2:30 p.m. in McCain Library and Archives, Room 305, for the opening of Mahony’s Meanderings. This new exhibit explores the life and literary world of collector and writer Patrick Mahony, featuring materials from Southern Miss collections that reflect his wide-ranging interests in literature, celebrity culture, politics, and the paranormal.

On display are letters and inscribed books from literary figures like Maurice Maeterlinck and Lord Dunsany, along with correspondence with royalty, politicians, and film icons such as Fay Wray and Gloria Swanson.

03/10/2026

Did you know that Special Collections has a 16th century Catholic antiphoner in its collection? You can find out more about the book, and others around the country, in an article about Spanish chant manuscripts.

Read the article here: https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/56/article/965555/pdf
View the antiphoner: https://bit.ly/4dd62te