UT's Harry Ransom Center shares its treasures with the public

The Harry Ransom Center used to be restricted only to scholars. But recently it swung open its doors and invites the public to peruse it's treasured collections.

"I think originally conceived the Ransom Center was clearly for advanced scholarship," says Ransom Center Director Tom Staley. "Materials that were brought here, the manuscripts, the collections, the archives were for scholars who were really on the cutting edge of humanities, making discoveries and finding things about Faulkner.

If you are one of the hundreds of Austinites who always wondered what was going on in the Ransom Center,you'll find a whole new philosophy. The center has been recreated so anyone can view the many collections and manuscripts such as the Gutenberg Bible that are on display for the public.

The center hosts more than one million rare books, five million photographs and over one million works of art. memorable and rare items like: the world's first photograph, drawings by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, first drafts of legendary novels, and Gloria Swanson's personal copy of the script for Sunset Boulevard.

Take a tour of the new Harry Ransom Center and view some of the amazing pieces that make up its collection.

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Produced by Domenique Bellavia