Director of Special Collections and University Archives
Melissa serves as head of Special Collections and University Archives and is responsible for all administrative work, strategic acquisitions, project management of and standards for cataloging and organization of materials, curating metadata and digital collections, administration of archival management and database systems, copyright and licensing requests, exhibits, loans, deposits, and supervision of department staff and graduate students. She received a Master’s in Library and Information Studies in 2015 and a Juris Doctorate in 2011 from the University of Oklahoma.
Contact Melissa about:
Email: melissa-kunz@utulsa.edu
Elissa Howe, MSMArchival Processor of the V.S. Naipaul Collection
Elissa serves as the archival processor of the V.S. Naipaul Collection and is responsible for physically arranging and appraising, researching and contextualizing, and creating a detailed finding aid for the items within the collection, as well as sharing photographs of various items on the department’s social media and facilitating the “V.S. Naipaul: Man Without a Country” exhibition. She received a Master’s in Museum Science and Management in 2023 from the University of Tulsa and a Bachelor’s in History in 2020 from John Brown University.
Contact Elissa about:
Email: elissa-howe@utulsa.edu
Brandis Malone, MLS, MASpecial Collections Cataloging Librarian
Brandis serves as the Special Collections Cataloging Librarian and is responsible for describing, preserving, and providing access to McFarlin Library’s rare book and print collections. She oversees local rare book cataloging practices and standards and works with the Director of Special Collections to set cataloging priorities. In addition to cataloging work, Brandis also serves as the stacks manager, ensuring that all print collections are accounted for and shelved in correct call number order according to current archival standards. She is also responsible for supervising the department’s Federal Work Study students. Brandis received a dual Master’s in Library Science and Master of Arts in Russian and Eastern European Studies from Indiana University in 2024.
Contact Brandis about:
Email: brandis-malone@utulsa.edu
Milissa BurkartPreservation Specialist
Milissa serves as the Special Collections Preservation Specialist and is responsible for creating complex housing enclosures such as binders, folders, and other encapsulating support mechanisms, basic book and paper repair, and the creation of facsimiles of extremely fragile documents for the department’s book and manuscript collections. She is also responsible for the organization and physical arrangement of the larger manuscript collections, providing patron access through detailed and specific archival description in finding aids and inventories. She also oversees the resource management and purchasing of archival preservation supplies for the Special Collections department.
Contact Milissa about:
Email: milissa-burkart@utulsa.edu
Grace CosbyGraduate Assistant
Grace serves as the department's graduate assistant and handles all inquiries about the collections, completes and fulfills requests for scans and publication licenses, and supervises Reading Room appointments.
Contact Grace about:
Email: speccoll@utulsa.edu
For general inquiries, email us at speccoll@utulsa.edu, or call the department front desk at (918) 631-2496.
