Q. I read in the paper about a new collection the library received called the “Mike Cox Collection.” How does this collection add to the library’s existing collections??
Mike Cox A. is an author, journalist, book dealer, researcher and Texas historian. His collection of donated books and materials has significantly expanded the library’s Texana collection.
When the City of San Marcos built the “new” library (it’s a year old, already), included were plans for two very specific rooms — a history room (made possible in part by a gift from Gwen Smith) and a quiet reading room. In the “old” library, these two functions were combined into one room called the Local History Room. However, through the years, the need for a “special collection” room became evident. San Marcos Public Library Director Diane Insley was approached by Mike Cox in 2017 about the gift of his personal collection of Texana. Of course, Diane said, “Yes.” This generous donation incentivized our building plans — we needed more space for Texas. Thus, the Texas History Room came about. We are extremely thankful that the room was added because the addition of the Mike Cox Collection has expanded the library’s Texana holdings by at least 5,000 volumes (not including serial and pamphlet materials relating to the history of Texas towns, cities, and counties.) These materials were collected over a lifetime of research by Mike Cox of Wimberley. The papers not included in his donation to the San Marcos Public Library are included in the Wittliff Collections at Texas State University, and Baylor University. During his career as a journalist, Cox wrote for the Austin American-Statesman where his Texana column ran from 1982-2013.
