On Friday, Feb. 14, we celebrated the acquisition of author, activist, and historian Lydia R. Otero's Papers with the inaugural Arizona Insights Speaker Series, which will be held annually on Arizona Statehood Day to explore key topics in the state’s history. Feb. 14 is also Otero's birthday.

More than 100 people attended the event which was held in the Special Collections Reading Room.

Otero spoke about their collection, how it evolved over the years, and the significance of archiving these materials to make them available to researchers, students, and the public. 

Watch the video to learn more about the collection.

Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, Associate Professor Emeritus Lydia R. Otero, Ph.D., served as a faculty member in the Department of Mexican American Studies in the U of A College of Social and Behavioral Sciences from 2003 to 2020.